


Vanilla

by nhpw



Series: The Re-Education 'Verse [5]
Category: Tron: Legacy (2010)
Genre: Aftercare, Angst, BDSM, BDSM Scene, Blindfolds, Bottom Alan, Cheating, Contracts, Dom/Dom sex, Double Anal Penetration, M/M, Oral Sex, Orgasm Control, Punishment, Restraints, Spanking, Sub Drop, Threesome - M/M/M, Verbal Humiliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:49:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5432021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nhpw/pseuds/nhpw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam asks Alan to invite Ed Sir back to fulfill a very specific fantasy. Or, Sam opens Pandora's Box of emotions and forever changes the landscape of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Return

**Author's Note:**

> I struggled a lot with how to post this, mostly because telera wrote an integral part of it and I wasn't sure how to work that in. It will be the second chapter of this part of the series, and all credit for that goes to her. She was also an excellent beta reader back in the day, and for that I owe her a debt I can't repay.
> 
> The relationship structure established by this story is nontraditional at best. While a poly-V trio - one Dominant with two submissives - happens frequently, the reverse - one submissive with two Doms - is nearly unheard of. If such a bond does form it's generally part of a House, where there are other 'family' members as well. But I digress. Bottom line: This isn't the way it usually happens. But I really like the way this turned out.
> 
> Tags above are in no particular order, and I *know* I'm missing some, so if you notice something that should be tagged (particularly for trigger-warning purposes) please feel free to say so and I'll add it. Thanks!

Sam thought on it for a whole week before saying anything to Alan.  Alan had been very clear – if Ed Sir was ever to return and play with them again, it had to be Sam’s idea.  Alan wouldn’t force it.

And so on the first Wednesday night after it occurred to him, Sam said nothing.  He wanted to truly be sure before breaching the subject.  It had been six months since Ed had stayed with Sam while Alan went away on business; six months since the collaring ceremony, since the late-night conversation between Ed and Alan on the couch.  Six months since Ed had touched Sam in any way.

Six months since Ed had so much as been in their home.

On Wednesday nights, “Master” and “submissive” fell away and the two of them engaged in a no-holds-barred conversation about fantasies.  Alan proposed potential scenes and Sam had the opportunity to give his opinion – he wanted to do it, or he didn’t, or he was interested but wanted extra safewords in place, or he wanted to make some changes to what Alan had suggested.  Conversely, Sam could propose scenes or activities he was interested in trying, and they would talk about it together to make sure that if they did it, Sam would be satisfied, but also safe.  Sometimes they spent hours playing with their fantasies and ideas.  Other times the conversations were very short, or they just went back over ideas they had already discussed, fine-tuning details and setting the stage for upcoming encounters.

But Sam wanted to be absolutely sure about this one, because when he said it out loud, he knew Alan would  _ ask _  if he was sure, and he had to be honest in his reply.  So he kept it to himself for nine whole days, thinking on it, deciding how the idea made him feel, wondering how it might change the dynamics of his relationship with his Master.

But on the second Wednesday after he first had the thought, Sam still wanted it, and so he knew he had to say something.  At the very least, he would say it out loud to Alan, and Alan would help him get to the root of the desire.  Then, if they still thought it was a good idea, Edward Dillinger, Junior would re-enter their lives.

“Something’s on your mind tonight, Beautiful,” Alan observed as they lay stretched out on their bed facing each other, relaxed, Alan with one arm tucked behind his head and the other resting comfortably on Sam’s upper arm.  They were fully dressed as always, because these conversations were to be open and honest and fully verbal, with no physical evidence or persuasion allowed.  It was a trust exercise as much as anything else.

“Yes Sir.  I…”  Sam paused, looking for the right words to broach the subject.  “I have… a desire.”

Alan smiled, and Sam blushed and turned his head because he knew that Alan loved when Sam disclosed his fantasies.  “Good.”

“I…”  He paused again, and watched the excitement fade in Alan’s eyes at his hesitation.  It had been many months since he’d struggled this much to speak freely about a fantasy.  Why was it so hard?  He drew a deep breath and blurted, “I want you to invite Ed Sir back to play with us.”  Alan’s eyes changed  again, and this time they showed pure surprise.  He hadn’t been expecting this at all, and Sam was only half finished.  “And I want you and he to… to be inside me at the same time.  In my ass.  Both of you.”

“Well.”  Alan licked his lips slowly, and Sam could tell he was trying very hard to cover his surprise.  “This is unexpected.”

Sam broke eye contact, taking a sudden interest in the Egyptian cotton sheet beneath them.  “Yes Sir.”

Alan didn’t speak for a long time, and Sam didn’t have anything else to say, so he waited.  Finally Alan said, “Look at me, Sam.”  And Sam did, tentatively.  “Is it that you want to play with Ed specifically, or that you would like to play with double penetration?  If it were someone other than Ed, would you still want to do it?”

“I…”  Sam hadn’t expected that question any more than he supposed Alan had expected his disclosure.  “Does my answer make a difference in your willingness to do it?”

“Not necessarily, but I do want to know.”  Sam furrowed his brow and hoped the confusion carried through well enough that Alan would continue.  “I’m curious if it’s the kink or the man that you’re interested in.  I don’t… I won’t share you, Sam.  I’ll invite visitors,” he stressed, “But you are my submissive and no one else’s.  There isn’t room for another Dom in this relationship, do you understand?”

“Oh, yes Sir.  I completely… Master, I… I love you.  I’m sorry I…”

“Shhh shh.”  Alan moved his hand from Sam’s arm to his head and touched his hair.  “You shared your fantasy, and you should never be afraid to do that.  I love you, too.  I’m sorry I reacted as I did.”  He laughed quietly.  “I am the one who introduced the idea of Ed in the first place, I suppose.”

Sam nodded shyly.  “Yes Sir.”

“But things have changed since then.”

“Yes Sir, I know Sir.”

A deep sigh, and Alan took Sam into his arms and kissed him gently.  “I’d still like an answer to my question.”

“I… think it’s both.”  Now it was Alan’s turn to offer a confused look.  “I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone  _ but _  Ed Sir, but this is the  only  thing I would want to do with him.  I don’t like the way he kisses, he’s too possessive, too rough, he doesn’t pay attention to my cues outside of a safeword which results in too many scenes ended too soon, he’s selfish, he—“

“Sam, Sam.”  Alan laughed and held up a hand, cutting Sam off.  “You’ve made your point.”

“Oh.”  Sam blushed and ducked his head.  He knew the question was still coming.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I want you to direct the scene,” Sam answered quietly, looking up again to make unblinking eye contact with Alan.  “I don’t want Ed Sir to be in control of me, but I’ll do anything you say.”

“OK.  Anything else?”

Sam bit his lip, considering.  After a moment, he added, “And I’d like you to enter me first.  That way if it doesn’t work…”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”  Alan kissed Sam again, deeper and longer this time, and Sam melted into him.  He loved that Alan didn’t bring up the fact that they both knew he could take a DP, because he’d done it before he’d been collared by Alan, and because he’d taken Alan’s fist so surely he could handle two dicks.  That was then, and he loved that Alan was willing to leave it in the past.  “How would you feel about a blindfold?”

“Maybe.”  Sam felt Alan’s hands working him free of his clothing.  “Wait.  Right now, or with Ed Sir?”

Alan chuckled against the hollow of Sam’s throat as he kissed a line down the tender young flesh.  “Well, I was thinking with Ed, but we could do it right now, too.  I must admit, your desire has made me have… desires… of my own.”  He pressed his front against Sam, allowing the young man to feel his hardness.  “Anything else you’d like to discuss?”

“No—“ Sam gasped as Alan bit lightly into the skin above his collarbone.  “No Sir.” 

“Then,” kiss on the lips, “I’m going to undress you,” kiss on the neck, “and fuck you.”

Sam moaned as Alan’s hands came up under his shirt, and he immediately relaxed, yielding to the comforting feel of his Master’s hands on his skin.  Alan undressed them both, and they played for hours into the night, a rolling tumble of passion and fire, with plans for their impending playdate fanning the flames.

***

“Hello, Sam.”

“Hello, Sir.”

Sam heard the footsteps as Ed Sir crossed the playroom and trembled a bit but didn’t look up.  He knew Alan was there, standing just to his left as he knelt naked, head bowed, hands behind his back in a traditionally submissive pose.  A hand fell on his head that was not Alan’s, and Sam flinched slightly before surrendering to the touch.

“Your Master tells me this was your idea.”  When Sam said nothing, Ed prompted, “Is that true?”

Sam cleared his throat.  “Y—yes, Sir.”

“Then why do you seem so nervous?  Are you having second thoughts?  Or…”  Ed chuckled softly to himself.  “Or is it that you want this so badly it’s making you tremble in anticipation?” 

Sam didn’t respond.  He started to turn his head to look up at Alan, getting his eyes as far as Alan’s thigh before Alan’s voice commanded sharply, “Eyes down, Sam.”  There was a beat of silence as Sam complied.  “Answer the question.”

“Yes, Sir.  The, um.  The second one, Sir.”

Dillinger bent over then, standing in front of Sam, so that his face would be right in Sam’s line of sight, even if his eyes were downcast.  “Say it,” he hissed.  “I want to hear it from you how badly you want this.” 

Sam licked his lips and hesitated again, but this time his head only flinched in Alan’s direction before his Master’s voice warned, “Sam,” and he knew he would be held to his honesty in his answer.

“I want it,” He whispered.  Then, just barely louder, he continued, “I asked Master to arrange this because every time I thought about the two of you taking me together, it made me… it made me hard.  I want you and my Master inside me at the same time.”

“In the same hole.”

Sam swallowed hard.  “In the same hole,” he confirmed.

Dillinger smiled slowly, waited a beat and then straightened.  “You’re such a good boy.”  The compliment took Sam entirely by surprise and he found himself blushing.

“Th—thank you, Sir.  That’s very nice of you to say.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve changed a bit.  A few less hard edges, you might say.  I can even recognize you as a person now. “

“How refreshing.”  Sam said it under his breath, barely audible, but Ed heard it nonetheless – and so did Alan.

“ _ Sam _ !” Alan barked, and Sam flinched visibly at the harshness of his Master’s tone.  It had been a long time since he’d angered Alan so.  “This is  _ your _  scene.   _ Your _  fantasy, and a response to  _ your _  desires.  You are dangerously close to me putting an end to it.  As it is, you’ve earned yourself a punishment before we begin, and I’m going to let Ed watch, since he’s the one you disrespected.  Now, apologize.”

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Sam choked out, biting his lip – it truly had just been a slip of the tongue.  Generally Sam was very good about being respectful.  “Ed Sir, I’m truly sorry for disrespecting you just now… and Master I… I’m also sorry to you.  I forgot my place.  It won’t happen again.”

“No, it won’t.  Down.”  Sam dutifully got up onto his hands and knees and braced himself for the first blows of the spanking he knew was coming.  Normally, verbal disrespect of Alan meant 25 slaps with the paddle.  Sam was wondering if it would be the same for disrespect directed at another Dom when Alan said from behind him, “I’ll give you a choice.  You can take 15 for your disrespect toward Edward and we’ll end this for tonight, Edward will go home and you and I can deal with our issues separately  or ,”  and there was just the slightest pause for emphasis, “You can take 40 – 15 for Edward and 25 for me – and we’ll continue with the scene.  Your choice, Sam.”

It was an interesting proposition – accept a lighter punishment, or take more paddling in exchange for something that, he was reasonably sure, would ultimately bring him pleasure.

He wanted it too badly.

“Forty, Sir,” he croaked out.

“Count them.”

The blows came fast and furious – it seemed Alan was as anxious to get the punishment over and get back to the scene as Sam was.  Sam kept his count steady until the last ten, when he faltered and missed the 31 st  stroke because it managed to cross his mind through the pain that he hadn’t heard a peep out of Ed Sir since the punishment began.   At that, Alan paused the paddle.  “How many?”  He was still angry, and Sam’s loss of the count hadn’t helped any.

“Thhh… thirty-one,” Sam managed, and Alan brought the next blow, and the eight that followed, even harder.  By the 40 th  stroke, Sam was crying, and he felt even more ashamed of his behavior.  “So sorry, Master,” he whispered, head bowed, still braced on his hands and knees.

“It’s OK, Sam.”  He felt Alan’s hand rest on top of his head, gently massaging his scalp, and it calmed him almost instantly.  When Alan spoke again, his voice was calm, completely devoid of anger.  “I love you.”

“Love you too, Sir.”

There was a brief moment of silence, and Sam didn’t look up, but he imagined Alan and Ed Sir were having a conversation with their eyes.  Then Alan said, “It seems you’ve found yourself in position already,” and Sam smiled, because he knew they had moved on from the punishment, and very soon, he would be filled – first by his Master, and then by Ed Sir. 

First, though, he felt someone behind him, straddled over his back, and a dark cloth came down over his eyes and was secured at the back of his head.  He tensed briefly, but the comforting feel of a flat palm pressed between his shoulder blades helped him relax.  He assumed it was Alan, but the voice that said, “Relax,” belonged to Ed Sir, and Sam was glad for the blindfold to hide his surprise.  “Can you see at all?”

“No, Sir.”  Two fingers – unlubed, and definitely Alan this time – breached his hole and the pleasure was an immediate distraction from the blindfold.  He moaned and pushed back against the digits, a non-verbal plea for more.

“Good.”

“It always amazes me how tight you are,” Alan remarked from behind Sam as he added a third finger.  “Just can’t get over that.  I broke you in pretty hard, and we’re not exactly chaste even now… and yet… you always take some prepping to get you ready for something like this.”

Sam never quite knew what to say when Alan talked to him like that, so he just ducked his head as he felt a blush creep up into his cheeks.  He knew his Master meant it as a compliment, and compliments weren’t something he’d gotten a lot of before Alan collared him.  They still embarrassed him, but he was trying to be better about being gracious. 

Alan retracted his fingers and there was a beat where no one moved, and then Alan’s cock was against Sam’s hole.  “Are you ready, Sam?”

“Yes Sir, please Sir…”

“Begging.  You must really want this.”  Sam moaned as Alan entered him partially – an inch, maybe even less – and paused.  “You gonna beg Ed, too?”

“I… uhhhhh…”

Alan pushed in further – another inch, maybe – and stopped again.  “Because I think he would like that.  And I think I like for our guests to be happy.”

Sam hesitated, clenching his eyes closed behind the blindfold.  He didn’t  want  to beg for Ed Sir’s cock – it felt like betraying Alan, somehow.  But it was Alan who was asking for it, implicitly if not explicitly…

“Please,” he whispered, and Alan inched further into Sam’s body.  “Iiii—I want it.  I need you… both of you… please, Ed Sir.”

“I’m surprised, Sam.  I was under the impression you never wanted to see me again, let alone take my cock.”  Sam said nothing, and then he felt a dripping cockhead pressing against his lips, and he knew it had to be Ed Sir.  He opened his mouth instinctively, in the back of his mind grateful that at least one of them was going to be slightly lubricated.  “Will he cum from this?”

Sam bit his lip; they were reverting to the old ways, Ed speaking to Alan about Sam as though Sam wasn’t in the room.

“Likely,” Alan responded.  Then he said, “Suck that cock, Sam,” and Sam startled and began sucking in earnest on the cock in his mouth.

Ed Sir moaned and put a hand on Sam’s head.  “He always was the best,” Ed Sir intoned, again presumably speaking to Alan.  “Such a good little cocksucker.”  Then there was a whisper in his ear, and Sam realized these words were for him and him alone.  “Once a slut, always a slut.”

Sam saw red for a moment and considered safewording out.  Degradation wasn’t part of the deal.  But then Alan entered him fully, and Sam reveled in the feel of his Master, in the knowledge that his Master was pleased with the progress of the scene, and he let his anger ebb and simply took the verbal hit without response.  Instead he dedicated himself to blowing Ed Sir, thoroughly coating his cock with saliva, hoping to ease the pain when Ed Sir joined his Master inside Sam’s hole.

“That’s enough,” Alan ordered after a few long minutes, and Ed Sir withdrew.

There was a long minute where everything was still.  Alan wasn’t moving inside of Sam, he couldn’t be sure where Ed Sir was, and he was fighting with all his might not to thrust back against his Master.

Everything was too still.  Sam needed something, anything.  In the unsettling quiet, he whispered, “ Please .”

And then it burned.  Oh, how wonderfully it burned, and Sam cried out in bliss and agony as he was stretched and stuffed to his limit.  The two Doms behind him made no sound, and he wondered how that was possible, because he could only imagine what kind of pleasure they must be feeling.  He listened to the sound of his own voice echoing off the walls, and he marveled at their self-control.  It was arousing to the point of keeping him hard all through the pain.

When the movement stopped and Ed Sir was all the way inside, Sam quieted and drew several slow, steady breaths to calm himself.  And he waited.  He waited for something to happen, something to change, and it seemed like forever before someone moved inside him.

Alan remained silent, but there was a whispered, “ Fuuuuck ,” from Ed Sir, and Sam moaned along with him.

There was no feeling quite like this.  Sam had done DP before, sure, but that was  _ before _ .  It was different with his Master.  He felt full, same as before, but it was more than that.  He felt  _ complete _ .  The moment, the act, was perfect and satisfying and he wouldn’t change a thing about it.  He didn’t even feel the need for someone to touch his cock, even though he was painfully hard and leaking.

He was fairly certain only one of them was actually moving.  The other would get off simply on Sam’s tightness and the friction of the other Dom’s cock.  That’s the way it usually worked with a DP.  But he couldn’t be certain, because the one thing that was missing was any sort of verbal encouragement at all.  When he’d done DP in the past, there had always been a fair amount of noise, as if they were in the middle of a terribly cheesy porno.  Even in a regular scene with Alan or Ed or both, Sam was used to some verbal communication, ranging from the soft and sweet to the terribly degrading.  This time there was nothing, save for the sound of harsh breaths being sucked in through teeth and occasional groan of pleasure or effort.  But then he felt fingers tightening on his hip and he knew someone was close.  The hand squeezed; it would leave a mark, but it was worth it.  Every sensation was doubled, and now Sam saw the genius of the blindfold.  There were no distractions, just the feeling of being filled and the overwhelming buzz of his own arousal. 

“M—Master,” he croaked out suddenly.  His breath quickened and he started to panic just a bit.  “Master, Iiiiii… going to… please Master…”

“Not yet.”  Alan’s voice was tense, clearly heavy with arousal, and his hand squeezed on the opposite hip.  Now he could picture that it was Ed Sir who had ahold of him from one side and Alan, his Master, on the other.  Something about it felt so arousing and so  right  that Sam was pushing closer to the edge with every passing second.

“Fucking fuck… tight little… fuck…”  That was Ed Sir, and Sam felt him explode mostly because he pulled out entirely and came over Sam’s back, warm and sticky… and welcome.  That last one was a surprise.

When it was just Alan buried inside of Sam, he moved with vigor, and he regained his ability to speak.  “I love when you cum without a hand on your dick,” he breathed in Sam’s ear.  “When you explode like that, it makes me crazy for you all over again.  I might have to sit back and watch you and Ed play when we’re finished with this round if you do that.  If you think that’s something you might enjoy… you go ahead and cum right now.  Right now.”

It wasn’t completely fair – Alan knew Sam would cum because Alan’s voice got him off like nothing else – but Sam  _ did _  want it, he realized in the microsecond before his cock jerked and spasmed and leaked a gooey mess all over the mat beneath them.  Alan came seconds later, pouring into Sam’s hole, and it wasn’t until Sam came down from his orgasm that he registered the tongue playing over his left nipple and knew it couldn’t possibly be Alan’s.  His Master was still buried to the hilt inside him.

But then he pulled out and stepped away, and Sam was alone on the mat with Ed Sir, who guided him gently to his back and straddled his chest, and Sam knew without being told that he should open his mouth for a soft cock that he would bring to hardness once again.  And he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“You like the things I do to you,” Ed stated as he ran rough fingers through Sam’s hair.  “I understand now.  I’m like the cayenne pepper you keep in your kitchen because every now and then, it gives you the little zing you can’t get from anywhere else.  And that’s fine.  You’re pretty spicy yourself, Sam.  Sam.  Sam.”  He panted the name as he bucked into Sam’s mouth, and the sub whimpered as hands that couldn’t possibly be Ed’s and so must be Alan’s came up and affixed clamps to his nipples and shoved a vibrator into his stretched asshole.  His whole body buzzed and the pleasure walked the line of too much but was just right and Sam could only think that he could never breathe another breath so long as he had all of this right here, forever and ever and ever. 

The rest of the evening was a blur of touches and pinches and overwhelming pleasure and Sam knew he blacked out at least once, because when he woke up again, the blindfold was gone and he was in bed, and he didn’t really know how he’d gotten there.

He was too tired to move; too tired, even, to say for certain that the conversation going on at the foot of the bed wasn’t a dream.

“This is so fucked up, Ed.  I don’t even…  Christ.  Do you know how long I’ve been a Dominant?”

“A long time.”

“I’ve never… never lost my composure like that.  I’ve never shared my sub… or  _ myself _ … with another Dom that way.  That’s not even touching the fact that  _ I love Sam _ .  I love him in a way I’ve never loved another person, no matter how you label the relationship.  But tonight… was… we can’t go back from this.”

“I’m sorry.  It was just…  All I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss you… and…”

Well that didn’t make sense.  Content with the knowledge that he was dreaming, Sam let the moment pass and lost himself in the bliss of sleep once again.

But when he woke in the morning, the bed was a tangle of limbs and bodies, and the pair of arms that held him didn’t belong to Alan.

 


	2. Interlude (by telera)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I didn't write this chapter, nor have I edited it in any way, the formatting is a bit different from the others. Nevertheless I consider it to be canon in this 'verse.

Alan had been thinking about it for hours. But try as he may, he still couldn’t remember how it had all happened. All that he knew was that at the moment, it had seemed like a good idea.

Sam was in a haze of pleasurable pain, squirming on his back as Ed toyed with the chain that linked the nipple clamps.

‘You like this, don’t you?’ he whispered licking the nub of hardened flesh that the clamp was so cruelly squeezing. Sam yelped in agony and his cock filled even more.

Alan was watching, almost unblinkingly, as Ed played with Sam, and it was obvious the young Dom had changed since the last time he had come around to play. He moved with more confidence, sure of his touches and enjoying every second he spent with Sam. Six months ago, Ed was strict and methodical, with a cold and detached attitude owed to his understanding –or lack thereof, in Alan’s opinion- of the Master and submissive dynamics. But that veneer of indifference had disappeared now. Ed exuded sheer dominance as before, but he was taking pleasure in Sam’s pleasure, coaxing moans and shivers from him.

‘You want to cum’ he said as he slid a finger alongside the vibrator currently buzzing deep inside Sam’s ass ‘A second time, a third, a fourth, as many times as I let you, right?’

Sam gave out a strangled cry as Ed shoved more fingers in his by now slack hole.

‘But you see, I won’t let you cum’ Ed grinned with sadistic relish ‘Not until you’ve begged me to my heart’s content’.

Sam was so lost in the overwhelming sensations that his hand darted down toward his cock to fist it. It wasn’t done on purpose, but Ed batted it away with a hard slap.

‘Beg me, little slut’ Ed ordered, removing his fingers and pushing his cock into Sam’s stretched hole again. Alan’s eyes widened, the vibrator he had chosen was especially thick, as he had planned to keep his own cum inside Sam’s ass for the evening. But Ed’s cock slid effortlessly along the vibrator, and he was balls deep in Sam’s ass in no time at all, fucking him in a sort of staccato rhythm that made Sam beg in earnest.

‘PleasPleasePlease Ed Sir… I-I-… need to cum… Let me cum, Sir, for you, for you, for you’ Sam repeated over and over again, and that seemed to satisfy Ed, as he squeezed Sam cock and forced a second orgasm out of him.

‘Cum, little slut. _For me_ ’.

And Sam did, he spurted thickly over his own stomach, and Alan thought he’d climax for a second time from just watching.

He didn’t, though, if only because he knew Sam well enough to know he had blacked out, and his responsibility as Master took over. He stood up and knelt beside him, undoing the knot of the blindfold and checking he was alright.

Ed had slid out of Sam by them, and watched in silence, still flushed and hard.

‘He’ll be fine’ Alan muttered ‘He’ll come to in twenty minutes or so’.

Alan pushed a cushion -the spanking cushion- under Sam’s head and smiled, more to himself than for Ed’s benefit. He looked at the younger Dom and was about to say something –about how Sam always woke up without remembering what had happened and blushed all over when Alan told him- but the strange look in Ed’s eyes cut him short.

Ed looked strangely subdued -and on hindsight he was probably unsure of what to do or say next- but the predatory glint was still there in his eyes, shining and somehow magnified behind his thick glasses. His expression reminded Alan of a hyena in the presence of a bigger predator, calculating and fearing at the same time, trying to decide the best course of action.

With a minute sigh, Ed resolved what to do- he approached Alan walking on his knees and kissed him. The move was so gentle and unexpected that it caught Alan by surprise, and his lips opened in a silent _Oh_ , which gave Ed the opportunity to nip his bottom lip tentatively, as if he was asking permission. He darted just the tip of his tongue inside his mouth, ready to back off if Alan so much as moved a muscle. But he didn’t, and so Ed grew bolder and deepened the kiss, savoring Alan’s hot mouth and revelling in the intoxicating feeling of laying claim -however briefly- to Alan Bradley.

When Ed finally broke the kiss, he smiled shyly and looked as if he expected something terrible to happen.

‘Sorry’ he nervously whispered ‘I- I just wanted to- Didn’t mean to-’

Alan frowned. The kiss had felt good. Too good, actually. Ed’s mouth tasted sharp and demanding, so unlike Sam’s, which was always soft and yielding. Alan licked his lips, reviving the sensation. The possessive edge of Ed’s kiss still tingled his bottom lip. Alan looked at Sam’s unconscious form and wondered what it would be like to _actually feel_ that pleasure. To open up to that intoxicating dominance, letting it overwhelm you. Something warm -and illogical and _so very wrong_ \- pooled in Alan’s groin, and he looked at Ed.

‘Do it again’ he said, and too late he realized it had been an order. Alan hadn’t really meant it in that way, but now it was out.

It was Ed’s turn to look surprised, but his trained eye didn’t miss the change in the old Dom’s stance. His body language was different, his muscles had relaxed and he was one part expectant, one scared and the last -but not least- excited.

Ed knew the moment for what it was- a rare gift that came only once in a lifetime, so he devoted one second to push the fucked-up-ness of it all out of his mind and let his instincts take over.

He kissed Alan again- and this time the kiss was rough and demanding, and Ed smiled to himself as he felt Alan yielding under his weight, lying down on his back as Sam had done a while ago.

Something clicked in Ed’s mind then- like this was the ultimate turn on, to take the submissive and now his Dom, like a primal display of power and assertion of his alpha male superiority. His cock throbbed in painful anticipation, and he knelt between Alan’s thighs, never breaking eye contact and etching every single detail in his memory.

Alan held on to Ed’s gaze like a lifeline, fearing that if he looked away the spell would break. He let himself be touched by Ed’s expert hands, re-acquainting himself with sensations he hadn’t felt since… since when? It was frightening, this pressure and emptiness in the stomach, and Alan wondered how Sam could manage, how could he overcome this vertigo and open his body to his Master?

Ed must have sensed his inner turmoil, and he had the lucidity -or wisdom, or sheer luck- to say the words that anchored Alan to the moment:

‘Trust me’.

Yes. That he could do. He had seen Ed playing with Sam, and Alan knew he could trust him. So he nodded.

Ed nodded back, and his face then changed back to the smug, predatory mask.

‘I’m going to fuck you, Bradley. Break you in good. Would you like that?’

It felt strange to hear Ed asking permission to do anything, but Alan lost that train of thought as he felt Ed’s slick fingers circling his opening.

‘Answer me’ the young Dom ordered, and Alan found his mouth was dry. He licked his lips slowly, and finally muttered-

‘Yes’.

It took him all his willpower to admit it, and it suddenly dawned on Alan that maybe that was why it was so difficult for Sam to express his deepest desires, and the reason why his voice never rose above a whisper.

‘Yes’ Alan tried again with more conviction, and felt as if he’d been freed of a heavy burden ‘I’d like that’.

‘Well, well’ Ed said spitting on his fingers. Alan was so very tight, this wasn’t going to happen without some kind of lube ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to ask… nicely. You can do better, Bradley’.

Ed slipped a finger inside Alan’s ass, who clenched his muscles instinctively. Ed waited for Alan to relax, but when he started to wiggle his finger after a while, Alan groaned in pain. Ed wondered how long it had been since somebody had done this to the old Dom- years? Decades?

‘Lube?’ That was Alan, and the pleading look in his eyes almost tipped Ed over the edge. He didn’t really want to go looking for lube in the drawers of the playroom, but knowing Alan had _begged_ him was so sweet that Ed decided he could waste a few seconds locating the lube. He followed Alan’s gaze and opened a cabinet to his right, getting the first tube he found and coating his fingers with the thick gel.

He pushed two fingers into Alan’s ass, and the groan he made was music to Ed’s ears.

‘So tight, Bradley. So like Sam. I’m going to fuck you as I fucked him. And you’re going to cum as he did, _for me_ ’.

Alan closed his eyes and let Ed’s words cocoon him. His mind was reeling with too many conflicting emotions, the razor sharp edge of loosing control, the blinding lust of being used by another man -a _Dom_ \- the wrongness of it all… He almost welcomed the pain of the sudden penetration, as it rooted him in the moment and made him forget the tormenting whirlwind in his head.

Ed’s cock was thick and hard, and he pushed mercilessly until his cockhead was fully buried in Alan’s ass. Ed allowed himself to be this harsh in compensation for the lube, which he had used liberally. Watching Alan trying to not let go was an exquisite pleasure, and he slid inside him little by little, savoring all the little changes in Alan’s face, his tiny moans and whimpers and the way he bit his tongue to avoid Ed from hearing all those shameful noises.

Ed wished the moment could stretch forever, but when he was finally balls deep in Alan and nudged his prostate, Alan clenched on him so hard that he almost lost it.

‘Beg for it, Bradley’ he ordered stroking Alan’s cock, a fierce determination to make this fuck memorable if he couldn’t make it last long ‘Beg me or you’ll never cum’.

Ed rutted inside Alan with abandon, angling for his prostate over and over again, biting his bottom lip to blood even as Alan gripped the mat with tightly clenched fists.

‘Please’ he muttered at last, and Ed came so hard at those words that he thought he would pass out from the pleasure. Alan followed suit almost immediately, and his hoarse moan echoed in the playroom, a sound of relief and surrender.

Ed slumped down by his side, and both panted harshly for a few minutes, lost in the orgasmic afterglow. Ed felt drowsy, and he knew he shouldn’t fall asleep, but he needed to rest a few minutes, so he placed his head over Alan’s chest and closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered was something moist on his cheek, but he must have been dreaming.

 

 


	3. Vanilla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to split this out a bit more than I had originally planned, so there will be more like 5 chapters. This one is more plot than porn. The chapter hinges on the deployment of a symbol to indicate "downtime" - time within a D/s (or M/s) relationship when all parties are on equal footing and can say whatever they wish without fear of retribution. Power dynamics are suspended until the downtime has passed, by whatever measure the parties involved agree (a time limit, a particular day of the week or time of day, or in this case, the use of a signal.)
> 
> Warnings for angst, brief mentions of impotency (age-related), and Sam messing with his father's Zen.

Alan stayed awake all night, watching Sam sleep.  He had only planned to watch for a few minutes, but he was hypnotized by Sam’s tiny twitches and sighs as he slept, and a few minutes became 20, which rolled into an hour, then two…  Before he knew it, it was 5 a.m., and he didn’t see the point in falling asleep anymore. 

Alan and Ed had stayed up past midnight as it was, talking about nothing, everything…  The specifics of how the three of them would move forward from last night were still a loose string of ideas, but a few things were clear.  First and foremost, Sam could never know that Alan had bottomed for Ed.  It would destroy the dynamics of Alan and Sam’s relationship, and Sam needed Alan to fill the role of the strong, unwavering Dom in order to stay safe and sane as much as he needed it to be satisfied. 

It was Ed’s final words of the night that kept Alan awake, though.  “You crazy old coot,” he’d said, shaking his head and grinning.  “You’ve really done it, haven’t you?  All these years of looking, all these years of being a Dom, and you’ve finally gone and fallen in love.  You’ve fallen in love to the point that you’d change your whole life for Sam if he asked.”

Ed was right, Alan realized, and that terrified Alan more than he cared to admit.  The fail-safe was that Sam would never ask him to change what they had – to drop the Lifestyle and just be a couple in love without the kink – because Sam needed it.  Without it, their relationship had no ground to stand on.  Which only circled in on itself to support the knowledge that Sam could never know exactly what had happened between Alan and Ed last night.

Sam began to rouse, drawing Alan out of his reverie.  The young man’s brow creased in confusion as he realized he was embraced in a pair of unfamiliar arms, and then relaxed as he seemed to remember something.  A long moment passed before he opened his eyes slowly and smiled sleepily at Alan.

“Good morning, Sam.”

“Good morning, Master.”  He sounded more content than Alan had ever heard him.

“You were dreaming.”

“Mmmhmmm.”  He nodded against the pillow.

“About what?”

“Last night.  I couldn’t decide… how much of it was real.”  He shifted slightly, as if to indicate Ed.

Alan smiled at that and took in the pair of them.  Ed’s arms circled Sam protectively, and Alan couldn’t tell until he glanced over Sam’s shoulder whether the other Dom was awake.  But indeed, his eyes were open, piercing blue and a mischievous, sleepy smile lighting his face.  He winked at Alan and gave the slightest of nods at Sam, the unspoken question hanging between them.

Alan gave an almost imperceptible nod in reply before shifting his gaze back to his sub.  “How much do you remember about last night, Sam?”

“You… and Ed Sir.”

Alan set his poker face carefully, not wanting to show his hand, but feeling a bit panicky at Sam’s response that he may actually have been more awake than they’d thought.  “Specifically?”

“You took me together.”  Alan relaxed mentally, hoping his body language didn’t convey relief too much.  “It was… amazing.  I felt so…”  Sam trailed off, and the Dom in Alan took over.  He was a guide for Sam through this debriefing, but he was also genuinely curious.  His experience with Ed had left him wanting to know more about Sam’s feelings, his emotions, about the way he processed his position. 

“Yes?”

There was a moment of hesitation, and Sam broke eye contact – clearly he worried about how Alan would react to what he was about to say.  “Complete,” he whispered at last.

Alan understood the whisper.  He understood why Sam simply couldn’t say it any louder.  He even understood why Sam was afraid to say it – he worried that Alan would think that he alone wasn’t enough to satisfy Sam’s sexual desires.  But that wasn’t the case at all.  He knew that now in a way he never could have before.  “Sure.”  Alan nodded and reached out to palm Sam’s cheek.  “Anything else?”  He gave his sub a smile… a lover’s smile.  He wanted to show that face to Sam more often – no edge, no dominance… if nothing else, he could show pure love with his face and his words.

“Mmmmm…  Then… you watched… Ed Sir take me.  And I think there was… a vibrator?  It kind of hurt... but it was kind of good, too.  I mean… I… liked it.  And then I think I came again and then after that… I…”  Sam blushed bright red and looked away again.

Alan chuckled in response and stroked Sam’s hair.  “I think I’ll let Ed fill in the blanks for you,” he said gently, and even as he said it, he knew there was a glint in his eye just like the one Ed had flashed him over Sam’s shoulder, because he watched Sam’s expression change to one of confusion and apprehension.  “He’ll tell you all about how much fun we had and what a good little sub you were… while I go downstairs and make breakfast.”  Alan leaned in and kissed Sam’s mouth fully, wanting to leave him with a taste of himself, but trusting Ed to do what Alan simply could not – to take Sam a third time in 12 hours, to bring him back to the height of pleasure.

To let Ed bring Sam to orgasm was one thing.  To leave him alone with Sam following a reaming the likes of which he’d had last night, to deal with the aftermath and the possible lingering pains and sensitivity, showed a whole new level of trust.  Alan wanted to give Ed that, to begin with.  And Ed must have  known, because his hand came around Sam’s body and he began to ghost his fingers lightly over Sam’s cock, which was perking up fast.

The sub hissed in a breath and Alan kissed him lovingly again.  “You can cum when Ed gives you permission.  Not before,” he stressed.  “But when he says it’s OK, I want to hear you downstairs, understood?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Be good for him.”

Sam could only nod in response as Ed’s fingers continued with feather-light touches along his erection.

Alan left the bed and pulled on a robe.  “Don’t bind him,” he said to Ed – an order, or maybe an instruction.  Alan wasn’t sure where the line was when it came to his communication with Ed, and that was one of the main reasons he needed some time alone.  He needed to think.  “Toys are in the top drawer of my bureau.  Have fun.”  He watched from the doorway as Ed touched Sam lightly, teasingly, until Sam was whimpering and squirming in pleasant agony.  Then he left the room, making sure to leave the door ajar.

Ed smiled as he danced his fingers lightly along the shaft of Sam’s cock.  Mostly, he just wanted to feel the boy – take pleasure in him for what he was in a way he’d never really done.  He felt honored by Alan’s willingness to leave him alone with Sam, really, and to gift him with Sam’s pleasure… But he also wanted to play.

“You can cum anytime you want,” he said, circling the head of Sam’s cock with an index finger, “but I’m not going to touch you any harder than this, and if you haven’t reached orgasm by the time breakfast is ready, you’ll go down to the table wearing a cockring.  Do you understand?”

“Y—yes Sir.”  The sub shuddered and gave a whimper as Ed’s other hand sought his opening.  He penetrated with one finger, and Sam tensed in obvious pain.  “Too sensitive?”

“Yes Sir.”  Again a whisper, as though Sam was afraid to admit it.  And now Ed was the one who understood.  He retracted his hand, instead bringing it up to run along Sam’s thigh.

“I’m not surprised.  We used you pretty hard last night.  I have to admit, being inside you alongside Alan was one of the most sensual, most erotic things I’ve ever experienced.”  He returned to caressing Sam’s ass, this time staying clear of the opening.  “But my favorite part of the evening was watching Alan punish you.  I was off to the side… just stroking my cock.  It’s so hot to see the two of you in that dynamic… dominance and submission at its finest.  I couldn’t decide which of you I found more arousing.  I’ll admit, it’s something I’ve fantasized about seeing for a long time.”

Sam mewled and squirmed, trying to thrust into Ed’s hand, and he licked and nibbled at the shell of Sam’s ear in response.  “Please,” the sub whispered, and it sounded so needy that Ed almost caved.

“Anytime you want,” he repeated instead, tickling Sam’s balls.  “But I want you to know that I can be gentle, too.”

***

Alan busied himself in the kitchen, mixing pancake batter, frying bacon, scrambling eggs.  He couldn’t hear much from the bedroom – just the occasional yelp or frustrated cry from Sam.  He smiled at that.  Ed had to him a perfected ruthlessness that Alan had never possessed but secretly admired – and he was reasonably certain that Sam found it equal parts arousing and frustrating.

He liked this, he realized.  He’d always been a voyeur, adding yet another dimension to his kink, and while the past six months with just Sam had been an absolute joy, they’d been… missing an edge.  Ed had brought that edge back last night, and they were all happier for it this morning.

Still, they needed to talk.  They  _ all _  needed to talk.  And then he needed to talk to Sam alone, and then they all needed to talk again.  And hopefully, at the end of all that talking, they could move forward – somehow – without any anger or resentment or hurt feelings.

As he set the last dish on the table, he heard it – the breathless exclamation that always preceded Sam’s orgasm.  Alan’s body tingled at the sound, but he realized with a sigh that his cock didn’t respond – at his age, his body wouldn’t recover from last night for at least another day.

That was another reason he was glad for Ed’s presence.  Sam, he’d suspected for some time, was content and complete being Alan’s submissive – but though he’d never admit it, he wasn’t always entirely sexually satisfied.

Alan waited a couple of minutes to let Sam come down before calling out, “Boys!  Breakfast!” and he smiled at how comfortably the summons rolled off his tongue.  Like so many things about the past 24 hours, it had a strange sense of comfort to it – a completeness, a fullness Alan had never felt before.

Footsteps on the stairs preceded Ed and Sam’s arrival in the kitchen.  They both wore flannel pajama pants (he recognized Ed’s pair as being one of Sam’s), but they were shirtless, showing off toned pectorals and bellies.  Ed was grinning widely, and Sam had an abashed smile on his face and a slight blush, and he seemed to be having trouble making eye contact with Alan as he sat down at the kitchen table.  It was as he pulled up his chair that Sam’s eyes landed on the little brown bottle of vanilla, seemingly innocent if a bit out of place next to the syrup, and he flitted his glance toward Edward before looking directly at Alan.  “Alan?” he asked tentatively, and there was a shift in his posture, a slight relaxation in his shoulders.

“Yes?”

“Now?”  Alan understood Sam’s unease.  The vanilla on the table was an indication that Alan wished to take an intermission from their Dominant and submissive roles and have a level-ground conversation about the relationship at the core of it.  The signal had been used frequently for several months after Sam moved into Alan’s home as they worked out how to live together, not just as a Master and  submissive, but as two individuals, and as a couple – but it had been shelved for a long time now, all but forgotten.  And it had  never  been used in front of a guest.

“Yes,” Alan repeated calmly, nodding toward Ed.  “He needs to be part of this discussion, too – at least for now.”  Alan smiled and waved his hand at the steaming plates of food.  “Eat,” he instructed them both.  “We should talk about all this on full bellies.”

Sam smiled at that and reached for the plate of bacon, pushing aside any semblance of submissive manners.  Ed watched him with a curious eye for a minute or so before giving a look to Alan, a raise of an eyebrow, a shrug, and then digging into the eggs.

“Did you have a good time with Ed this morning?” Alan asked after a few minutes of eating in silence.

“Totally.”  Sam’s response was accompanied by a slight duck of his head.  For a moment, he took an extreme interest in cutting his pancakes.  Then he shoved the bite into his mouth and smiled around it.  “He’s come a long way,” he managed to get out around the mouthful of food.

“Talking with your mouth full is gross,” Alan returned, shaking his head.

Sam belched in response.

They both looked at Ed then, who was watching them with a mildly horrified expression.  “What… ummm…”

Sam pointed to the vanilla.  “It’s a signal,” he explained. 

“One of many,” Alan added.  “Until the vanilla is removed from the table, our relationship is just that – vanilla.  We’re lovers, first and foremost.  It’s an even playing field.  Anyone can say anything he wants.  Sam…” Alan smiled and shook his head at the young man seated to his left, “Sam usually pulls it out when he’s angry and needs to air his grievances without worrying about his tone or his manners or fear of retribution.  But it also helps us to discuss things about our relationship – not our lifestyle, but our  _ relationship _  – and to keep it in mind that they are not one and the same.  Does that make sense?”

Ed laughed.  “Well,” he said, taking a swig of orange juice, “They don’t call you ‘Isolated Thinker’ for nothing.”

Alan cleared his throat, but he was smiling as he stabbed a piece of sausage onto his fork and put it in his mouth.  Silence fell over them again as they ate.

When the meal was winding down, Alan poured himself a cup of coffee, then offered the same to Ed and Sam.  Sam stood and cleared the table with the poise of a practiced submissive, and that seemed to make Ed a little more comfortable.

“OK.  Since I called this Vanilla Talk, I’ll start.”  Alan sipped his coffee – it was still too hot, so he set the cup back down on the table and turned to face Sam.  “Sam,” he said gently, “I love you.  I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my whole life.  I love you so much that if you asked me tomorrow to  abandon the Lifestyle and just live out the rest of my years as your lover, I’d do it in a heartbeat.  And that… that’s scary for me.”

“But I’d never ask that.”  Sam’s brow was creased in confusion, and he shook his head slightly as he spoke.  “I need this, Alan.  I’m not… I’m not me without it, and I’m not  _ safe _  without it.”

“I know.  And I think that makes me love you all the more.”  He leaned in and kissed Sam slowly, just a lover, without the slightest hint of dominance.  “But… I haven’t been completely open with you about how much I’ve missed voyeurism since you and I became so… you and I.  It was one of the things that made you so attractive in the beginning – you indulged that part of me.  You liked sex for the sake of sex, regardless of your partner.  And when…”  Alan blushed and glanced at his lap.  He sipped at the too-hot coffee again to buy himself some time to gather his thoughts – and to work up the nerve to confess what he knew he needed to say next.  “I’m old, Sam,” he said, staring into the endless blue of Sam’s eyes, watching the sadness that dawned there as Alan touched the elephant in the living room that they never, ever talked about.  “I can’t always… I can’t always  _ perform _  the way… the way I think you’d like.  The way you deserve.  I know that you know there are times I dominate simply by touching you, by playing with you, by controlling your orgasms or putting you in bondage or using dildos and vibrators and other toys because I just can’t get an erection.”  Alan cleared his throat as he felt a blush burning at his cheeks.  “In the beginning, part of what kept you satisfied was when Ed came to play.  Much as he may have used and abused you, there was a part of you that enjoyed it all because I know at the end of those nights, you were entirely satisfied.  And I know that you know that your pleasure matters, too.”

“Yeah.”  It was barely audible.  Sam took a sudden interest in the tabletop, tracing the wood grain with his index finger.  “I… I did like when he visited, back then.  It was just that he…”  Sam took a moment to gather his thoughts before looking up at Ed.  “You were too harsh,” he said.  “You were mean for the sake of being mean.  You hurt me.  I only tolerated it because I knew how much Alan liked to watch, but I never understood why you liked to torture me so much.  I thought you were just being abusive… until this morning… this morning you said something that made sense.  You said you liked watching Alan punish me.”  Alan turned his head toward Ed, surprised.  “Was that why?  Why you were so determined to get me to break rules?  Why you pushed me to my breaking point, why you were so rough?”

Ed could only nod, and Alan didn’t miss the way the other Dom’s Adam’s apple bobbed around a swallow.

“It’s more than that, though,” Alan continued.  “Ed’s a little more sadistic than I’ve ever been.  For me, Dominance and submission is a discipline.  It runs pretty deep.  For Ed… it’s… more at face value.”  Alan cocked an eyebrow at Ed.  “Is that fair?”

“It’s fair.”  Ed still seemed a bit uncomfortable with the discussion, but Alan gave him points for trying.  The young Dom folded his hands in front of himself and Alan watched his posture shift as he tried to relax.  “I think I need more… rough-and-tumble?... to be satisfied.”

“Also fair,” Sam conceded.  “Everyone who chooses this lifestyle does it for different reasons.  You and I could never be a couple because our reasons conflict.  But you… I do like playing with you.  You’re…  spicy.”  Sam said the word with a flirtatious wink.  “And after Alan punished me last night, you seemed… more at ease.  More in your element as a Dom.  I enjoyed you… more than I admitted.  Both with Alan and alone.”

“Good.”  Alan was pleased with the progress of the conversation.  Now came the tricky part, because he still hadn’t decided exactly how much about his activities with Ed he was planning to admit to.  He held up his hand for a moment to think before continuing.  Then he faced Sam again.  “There’s something else you should know about last night.  And this is… this is why I pulled out the vanilla.  And I want you to know that, after I say what I’ve needed to say, it will remain on the table until you remove it.  OK?”

“You’re scaring me, Alan,” Sam said with an uneasy laugh.

“Yeah, I… this isn’t easy, but you have a right to know.  Sam, after… after you passed out… after I checked on you and made sure you were OK… Ed and I… we…”

“I kissed him,” Ed blurted, and Alan’s eyes shifted to the other Dom in surprise.  Ed looked a bit surprised himself, as though he hadn’t expected to take some of the burden of explanation off Alan’s shoulders until the words were already out of his mouth.

For the first time in a long time, the expression on Sam’s face changed to something Alan couldn’t read.  “We enjoyed each other’s company,” Alan admitted softly, reaching out to put one hand on top of Sam’s.   “And it was… very educational for us both, I think, in understanding our role, and in understanding yours.”  It was about as eloquently as Alan could say what happened without really saying it, and he prayed it was enough for Sam. 

“I, um.”  Sam cleared his throat and tore his eyes from Alan’s.  He studied the tabletop.  He pulled his hand away from Alan’s touch, and Alan felt his heart sink to his toes.  “That’s not something that’s… typical… of two Doms, right?”

“Right.”  Alan was on the verge of tears, and he knew it came across in his tone.  He was determined not to let them fall in front of Sam.  Even in the worst of arguments, even when the vanilla had remained on the table for days, Alan had never lost his composure in front of Sam.  “It’s not something I’ve ever done before.   I… what are you thinking, Sam?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t know.  Everything’s just… it’s so messed up.  I don’t even… I need…”  Sam pushed back from the table abruptly and stood.  “I need to think.”  He was out of the kitchen and out the front door before either Dom could move to stop him.  A moment later, they could hear the engine of the Ducati as Sam sped away.

“Where’s he going to go?”

Alan raised his eyes toward Ed at the question.  “The only place that makes sense.  Stay here, OK?  We should… we should talk some more.”  Alan got up then, slowly, sighing and feeling an emptiness inside him that he didn’t begin to know how to reconcile.  But the least he could do was warn Kevin Flynn.

***

“This is so fucked up.”

Kevin stood aside as he held the door open for his son, and the young Flynn strode through it, holding his motorcycle helmet and clearly steaming mad.  “Well hello to you, too, Kiddo.”

But Sam was in a state.  “Alan and Ed.  They.  Christ.  They kissed.  Each other.  And I’m not sure, I don’t want to know, I don’t want to think about it, but I think they might’ve fucked.  I don’t even know what… this is so fucked up.”

“Tea?”  Bemused, Kevin followed Sam through the mudroom to the family room and watched as the boy sat down on the couch and buried his face in his hands.  He took a couple of heaving breaths, then stood again, still too agitated to stay seated for long.  He also didn’t answer Kevin’s inquiry, which finally snapped Kevin out of his bemused state.  “Sam.”  He went up to his son, this young man who’d changed so much and come so far and in some ways seemed like a kindred spirit and in other ways seemed like a stranger… his son… and rested his hands on broad shoulders.  “Breathe.”  A demonstration – deep breath in, slow breath out.  Eyes closed.  A moment later, Kevin’s smile returned, calmer now, as Sam mimicked his actions, followed his instructions.  “Let’s sit.”  He steered Sam by one shoulder over to the couch and they sat, side by side, with remarkably similar postures.  Kevin poured them each a cup from the waiting teapot.  “Now.  Tell me why you’re upset.”

Sam turned his head to the side to look at his father, incredulousness lighting his features.  “Did you not hear what I said?”

“Well, you were a bit difficult to follow.”  Kevin’s soft laugh filled the room, adding to the calmness.  The Zen.  Sam was very un-Zen, but then, that was part of Kevin’s job – as his father, but particularly right now, with this particular trial.  Kevin knew enough about all parties involved, about how they operated as individuals and how they lived the Lifestyle, to bring Sam back to center.  “But I did hear you.  The question remains, why are you upset?”

It took all of Kevin’s self-discipline to hold in his laughter as Sam’s simmer suddenly turned to a full boil.  “THEY  _ FUCKED _ !” he exclaimed, throwing his hands out to his sides.  It was a predictable response.  Most of this conversation – at least Sam’s side of it – was predictable.

“Yes, I’m fairly certain they did.  No, listen to me, Sam.  Breathe,” he repeated, and again he demonstrated a calming breath.  Again, Sam mimicked his actions.  “I understand what happened.  What I’m asking is what, exactly, upset you about the situation.”

“What do you mean?”  Sam’s tone was heavily guarded, cautious, as though he was trying to decipher his father’s identity as friend or foe.

“Well, if you’re upset as a submissive that your Dominant may have had sex with someone else, then you have no right to be.  It’s not your place as a sub to decide what your Master does and does not need in order to be sexually satisfied.”  He watched Sam’s face carefully as the tiniest bit of understanding  dawned.  “But if you’re upset because your lover – because  _ Alan _  – may have had sex with someone else, and you feel like he  _ cheated _  on you… well, that’s another matter entirely.”

Sam’s eyes widened suddenly, and he looked as though his father had just reached inside and touched his very soul.  “He said he loves me,” Sam whispered, and the tears started, and then the sobs, quiet at first, but his shoulders were soon shaking with them, his body heavy with some kind of misunderstood grief.  “He loves me enough that if I asked him to, he’d cast off the Lifestyle and we could just live as lovers.  But I don’t, Dad, I don’t want to do that, but I do love him, I do, I do, so much, and I… Ed is… I just…”

The last words were indecipherable, and Kevin did the only thing he could.  He pulled his son close and let him cry until he was empty of tears.

Twenty minutes later, exhausted, Sam was quietly slumped against his father’s chest, and Kevin couldn’t help reflecting that this would have made far more sense when Sam was six, or even sixteen.  But he wasn’t, Kevin hadn’t been there for those heartbreaks… he was here for this one.  And he’d be here, present, active, to the deepest degree.  “How do you feel about Ed?” he asked carefully.

“I don’t love him,” came the knee-jerk response, followed by a sniffle.  “I… I’m not even sure I care about him all that much.  I don’t feel like he understands me, you know?  Not like Alan does.  But I do like… I do like some of the things he does, when he comes over to play.”

“So you enjoy him as a sexual partner.  Or—as a Dom.”  Sam gave a concilliary nod.  “And that’s OK.  You do know that’s OK, right?  It’s pleasurable for you, for Alan… even for Ed.  Everybody wins, Kiddo.  No harm done.”

“Until last night.”

Kevin sighed and pulled Sam close again.  “You know, Sam, I never got a chance to teach you about the birds and the bees.  So being able to guide you in your life as a submissive – as  _ Alan’s _  submissive – has been sort of a second chance at that, and I was happy to take it.  Now somewhere along the line you exceeded everything I knew about the Lifestyle, but you’ve managed to circle right back to everything I know about being in love.  You feel like Alan betrayed your trust, and you need to be honest with him about that.  But… he shares you, Sam.  And you happily let Ed do whatever will make Alan happy.  So… why…?”

Flynn left the question open, hoping Sam would pick up the ball and run with it, and his son did not disappoint.  “Nobody asked me,” he said softly, not able to meet his father’s eye.  “I feel… like… they thought my opinion didn’t matter.  You know, when I think about it, I think… I don’t know, maybe – maybe – it would’ve been hot to watch.  It must’ve been… so…”

A blush crept up Sam’s neck and into his cheeks and he lost his nerve, looking away from his dad and trailing off.  “So powerful?” Flynn supplied carefully, matching Sam’s quiet tone. 

“Maybe.  But, you know, they didn’t even ask me.  And somehow that makes me feel more abused than anything else either of them has ever done to me.  It makes me feel… neglected.”

“You and I both know Alan loves you more than his own life.  He didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”

“He said… that he understands me better now.”  Sam sighed.  “But I feel like I understand him less, somehow.”

“You need to go home, Kiddo.  Go home and talk to Alan.  You’re too good of a match to end it over something like this.  You’ll never find anybody better for you than Alan Bradley, and Sam... I know that man well enough to know that he’s been looking for someone like you for a very long time.”

“I know.  I know.  It’s just that… my heart hurts, Dad.”

“Well that… that’s something that comes with life.  You can’t run away just because you’re hurting inside.”

The irony hung heavy in the air for a few seconds before Sam called his father out.  “You did.”

“Yeah, I did.  And look what I missed out on because of it.”

 


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Alan reconcile, and Ed tries to prove he can do it right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long, intense BDSM scene begins in this chapter and carries over into the next. In the current chapter, relevant warnings include bondage, blindfolds, verbal humiliation, masturbation, creampie, and voyeurism. The scene is intense enough that I elected to split it across two chapters, but everything is safe-sane-consensual. Enjoy!

The vanilla remained on the table for three days, and with each passing day, Alan’s heart broke a little more.  During those three days, Sam mostly kept to himself.  He worked long hours at ENCOM – on individual projects that didn’t involve Alan – and slept in the guest room.  He attended to his household chores, but Sam and Alan saw each other very little and spoke even less.

Alan did notice, on the second day, that Sam wasn’t wearing his collar.  It was possibly the first time he’d considered himself presentable without it since Alan had placed it there six months prior.

On the morning of the fourth day, Alan came down to the kitchen and was surprised to see Sam seated at the table, bent over with his elbows braced on his knees and the little bottle of vanilla sitting in the open palm of his left hand.  He was looking down at it, studying it with some intensity, when Alan first arrived, but his head slowly lifted, and Alan took in his lover’s beautiful face – the weight of the world sat heavy on his shoulders, and the exhaustion of what he carried was evident on his face.  But when he said, “Hi,” and his tone wasn’t the slightest bit angry or guarded, Alan felt a thousand times better than he had an instant before.

“Hi,” he returned with a small smile, crossing the kitchen to the table.  He resisted the urge to try to lead the conversation, or even to ask a question.  He would let Sam take this wherever he needed in order to make things right between them.

“Can we be late for work today?”  A tear slid down Sam’s cheek and he set the vanilla down on the table and looked up at Alan with an expression that said everything Alan felt.   _ I want to come home _ .

Alan didn’t speak; he didn’t think.  He just acted, throwing his arms around Sam, just Sam, folding him into himself so tightly that to an observer, it would probably look as though he was trying to make the two of them into one being.  He would keep his composure, though.  He wouldn’t cry in front of Sam.  He wouldn’t, he couldn’t…

But then he did, and they were both crying and sobbing and squeezing each other tighter and tighter until Alan reflected that he wasn’t even sure he was breathing anymore, but it didn’t matter.  Nothing else mattered right now, nothing but Sam Flynn and their love and the simplicity and ferocity of this hug.

It couldn’t be said, later, exactly how long they stayed like that, but it was long enough that when they separated each of them had a tear-soaked shoulder and red-rimmed eyes.  Their eyes met for one hard second in which there was a silent communication, an agreement that the loss of composure of this moment would  _ stay _ this moment, would remain in the past and wouldn’t spill over into their relationship in the future.  Sam would leave Alan’s tears here, and put them away with the little bottle of spice.  The agreement set, Alan took the chair to Sam’s left, but he kept hold of the young man’s hand, unwilling to let him go even that much.  After being so afraid that he had lost this love forever, he couldn’t bear to let the touch slip from his grasp.

“I felt like you cheated on me,” Sam said, staring at their joined hands.  “I felt like… you didn’t care what I thought.  You didn’t even ask me.  We didn’t even talk about it.  We always talk about everything we do before we do it.”

“I know.  I know, Sam, I’m so sorry.”  But he didn’t say what might have followed – that it wouldn’t happen again.  Sam was smart enough to recognize that.  

“Do you want to do it again?”

“I don’t think so.”  Alan patted the hand he held.  “It wasn’t… the same.”  Alan wasn’t going to say whether he’d fucked or been fucked unless Sam directly asked – and he was pretty sure he knew Sam well enough to know the young man wouldn’t do so.  “But I think it will change some things about how you and I do things.”

“Such as?”

Alan considered that.  “Well,” he began slowly, licking his lips and trying not to wince at the memory, “Lube.  You’d like it if I used it, wouldn’t you?”  Sam nodded, and so did Alan.  “So there’s that.  And probably… Ed.  I want him to come back and play with you.  I want to watch.  I think I  _ need _ to watch.”

“But he won’t be a partner.  He won’t… be… I don’t even know what you’d call his position.  Switch?  Beta Dom?”

“He’ll be… a visitor.  Like before, except that I’ll give him some additional rights.  Obviously I’ve already let him bring you to orgasm.  That will continue.  Additionally, I’d like to see him punish you.  Put you in heavy bondage.  Other things.”

Sam squirmed a bit in his chair and looked down at their joined hands.  This was like the ultimate Wednesday discussion, spilling into the morning, revealing all kinds of things on both their parts.  “I’d… like that.  I think.  But never alone.  I want you there.  I think… it wouldn’t be as satisfying if you weren’t getting off on the show.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”  

There was a long, silent pause in which Sam considered their joined hands and Alan considered Sam.  Then he watched as Sam stood from the table, took the little brown bottle of vanilla to the cupboard where it belonged, and put it back in its place among the other spices.  Then he came back to Alan and knelt on the kitchen floor, head bowed, clearly a submissive pose.  And he waited.

Alan let one more tear fall as he touched his palm to his sub’s head – but this was a tear of pride.

***

Alan and Ed drew up a contract, much like the one that was drawn up six months prior when Ed was alone with Sam, except that this time, Sam was party to it before it was signed.  He still, on some level, felt like he was being negotiated over like a piece of property… but if he was perfectly honest, it was on a level that he  _ liked _ .  He confessed that to Alan the night before Ed’s first post-contract visit, as they lay cuddled in bed, as Alan ran soothing fingers through Sam’s soft hair.

“Part of being a sub is admitting that you are a sexually charged being, that you have desires that you sometimes can’t control.  And part of my job as your Master is to tell you that’s OK.  I’ve always been here to shape that part of you, to help you keep yourself more controlled, more… safe.”

“I’m nervous,” Sam sighed into the crook of Alan’s neck, and Alan’s responding laugh puffed warm against the skin of Sam’s cheek.

“Of course you are.”  He pulled back, eyes twinkling with delight as he looked into the soul of the young man he loved more than his own life.  “But I’m looking forward to it very much.”

Part of the contract was the creation of a new signal – much like the vanilla, a shaker of cayenne pepper would appear on the kitchen table 48 hours before Ed was to visit.  It was Alan’s decision, or it was Ed’s via a phone call.  It was never Sam’s, but Sam’s input was welcome.  He had a full day to choose to remove the pepper from the table, and if he did so, the visit was off and no one would speak anything about it.  Like the use of a safeword, Sam wasn’t required to provide a reason.  That he simply didn’t feel like it was enough.

But Sam rarely took advantage of this out.  He enjoyed Ed’s visits in a way he hadn’t when his relationship with Alan was new.  He liked the way they complemented and contrasted each other’s styles; he liked Ed’s hard edges much better now that the way he pushed Sam’s buttons had a clear purpose.  And, if Sam was honest with himself, sometimes he pushed back just to test Ed’s limits.  He never did that with Alan anymore – he rarely had in the first place, and their relationship was too solid and established for him to do it anymore just for fun.

Two months passed.  The comfort level rose, and soon their scenes were anticipated greatly by all participants.  Ed’s visits became weekly, and sometimes more than that… and then something unexpected happened.

One Wednesday night, Alan placed the pepper shaker on the table in the middle of dinner with an unusual sense of bravado.  He wanted to make sure he had Sam’s attention, and he did, so much so that Sam stopped with a forkful of broccoli half way to his mouth.

Alan grinned, taken by Sam’s boyish appearance in the moment, and sat back down.  “On Friday night, we’re going away,” he announced, giving a pointed glance at the pepper shaker before returning his eyes to Sam and finishing, “With Ed.”

Sam set his fork down and couldn’t help a slight crease of his brow and a questioning, “Sir?”

“Ed has invited us to his… playhouse.  A cabin in the woods, a few miles out of town.  He used to train his subs there before… we…”  Alan cleared his throat and looked away.  “I’ve been there to inspect, and I think a weekend there is just what we all need.”

Sam nodded, but he sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and said nothing, and his eyes were focused on his plate.  He cleared his throat after a minute of silence, but he didn’t offer any more response than that.

“Sam?”

Sam looked up then, and the tears shining in his eyes took Alan by surprise.  The look was clearly fearful, and Sam’s appearance was not unlike a trapped animal who wants to run but can’t find a way in which to go.  “Whatever my Master desires,” he whispered finally, and Alan studied him, stone-faced, searching out the boy’s true feelings.  Fear, yes… but more than that.  It ran deeper.  “You have the right to feel safe in the presence of your Master,” he murmured – a mantra they hadn’t discussed in nearly a year.  “At all times.  Ed, no Ed, inside this house or somewhere else.  It doesn’t matter.  It may be Ed’s domain, but you’re my submissive.  That hasn’t changed.  That will  _ never _ change.”  And then he put a comforting hand on Sam’s shoulder, squeezing with just the right amount of gentle massage and dominating presence so that when he released the hold, he felt Sam relax under his open palm.

“Thank you, Sir.”  Sam’s voice waivered, but it was committed; he wouldn’t back out.  Alan had said the right things.

“You’re very welcome.  Now.  Eat.  I suspect,” he paused for effect, licking his lips and offering the tiniest of smiles, “That you’ll need your strength.”

***

Before they left home, Alan took Sam into the bathroom.  He stripped the boy of his clothing and guided him under the spray of a warm shower.  Alan washed every inch of Sam, head to toe, with the knowing touch of a long-time lover and caregiver.

“Lavender,” Sam sighed as he lifted his face into the spray and took a deep breath.

“Mmmhmmm.”  Alan kept all dominance out of his touch, out of his voice, but somehow, he knew Sam still felt it, was wrapping himself in it with each inhalation of the soothing scent.

When Sam was clean, Alan turned off the water and dried his submissive with one of the fluffy extra-large bath towels usually reserved for after a particularly taxing session in the playroom.  All of this, in fact, was usually a routine for  _ after _ .  But the reason for it applied here – to reassure safety, and love, and care.  And Alan needed it as much as Sam did.

Alan packed their bags and they drove to Ed’s cabin mostly in silence.  Alan focused on the road, and Sam stared out the window.  The radio played, but Sam – severely prone to singing along – remained quiet, and unusually still.  The city gave way to sparse, open land, and then there were a few trees, and then more, and the signs for burger joints became signs for scenic overlooks and picnic and camping spots.

Ed’s cabin was an old-fashioned log house, except that it was well-sealed and insulated and bigger than anything the pioneers would have had.  Alan knew from his inspection that it had a large living space, complete with a wood-burning fireplace; a modern kitchen that adjoined a small dining area; a full bath, one good-sized bedroom with a queen bed… and a Master Suite.  That’s where Ed slept, where he had trained his subs in the past, and where they would play this weekend.

In truth, Alan couldn’t wait to see the look on Sam’s face when they stepped into that suite.  The bedroom was just the start of it, and was fairly unremarkable.  The king-sized bed would accommodate them all when it finally came time to sleep.  It was obvious that the bedframe was designed so that a swing or sling or chains could be hung from the tall posts to secure someone to the bed, but that was all.  The bathroom was slightly more interesting if the contents of the drawers were inspected.  Aside from its impressive Jaccuzzi tub and a separate large, tiled walk-in shower, Ed kept his salves and gels and sprays there, and bandages, too, just in case, because they were at least a half-hour drive from the nearest hospital.  But then, they were in the wilderness; he’d be a fool not to keep first-aid supplies on hand.

And then there was a door.  It was a sliding door rather than one that pulled open, a splash of high-tech in an otherwise very basic-looking cabin.  It blended into the back wall of the bathroom so well, just to the left of the toilet, that one might not know it was there.  But it opened with a keypad like a garage door, and when it slid aside, it revealed the extent of Ed’s kink.  The room was 15-foot square and had no windows.  There were lights, but only enough to see by.  The cement floor promised no mercy; neither did the strong chain extending from the high point of the vaulted ceiling, ending seven feet off the ground with a pair of leather cuffs.  Whips and canes and crops lined the far wall; a chest on the wall to their left Alan knew to be filled with smaller devices of pleasure and torture alike.  Ed had dildos and cockrings to spare – more than Alan, possibly, because Ed had never stayed with one lover long enough to find out his likes and dislikes.  He only stayed long enough to experiment, and to play.  And that’s what he would do with Sam this weekend.

There were a few pieces of furniture, a swing, even a medical exam table with stirrups; another, smaller chest of drawers contained medical devices, some of which Alan had never seen or used.  It was just big enough to be an effective playroom… or dungeon.  What it was labeled, Alan supposed, depended on its occupants’ point of view.

All of this was on Alan’s mind as he pulled into the cabin’s driveway, and he left the car running for just a few moments after shifting into ‘park’ so that he could rest his hand on top of Sam’s for a moment.  He needed to collect his thoughts; one glance to his right and he knew the same was true of Sam.  The boy looked pensive, and if Alan looked carefully, the slightest hint of fear was evident in the tension of Sam’s face, in the way his brow was furrowed.  But they were here, and Alan wasn’t going to back out.  He waited until Sam met his eyes directly, then offered a reassuring smile and a pat to the boy’s hand.  “Ready?”

Sam didn’t speak, but he nodded slightly, and then smiled back.  But he didn’t get out of the car.

“Sam?”  

“Yes Sir?”

“I love you.”

Sam’s reply was a whisper.  “Love you, too.”  Alan, Master, Sir.  He didn’t say it, and he still didn’t move.  So Alan exited the car and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door and offering a hand to his sub.  Sam reached out to the supportive arm, accepted it, and stood.

Ed greeted them at the door with a warm, welcoming smile.  “Dinner will be ready in just a moment,” he said, stepping aside to allow them entry.  

However welcoming his smile was, Alan couldn’t ignore the glint in his eyes.  It was only welcoming in the way that a wolf welcomes prey to its den.

But Ed offered a kiss to Sam, and Sam accepted enthusiastically, relaxing as Ed possessed his mouth.  Whatever Alan had seen in Ed’s eyes, Sam must have missed it, because the kiss seemed only to put him at ease – even when Ed bit his bottom lip until it drew blood.

“Thank you, Ed Sir,” he acknowledged dutifully, and Ed’s smile widened.

Then he looked at Alan and, before any words of protest or question could be offered, he kissed Alan as well – deep and long and searching. 

It was only then that Alan realized how egregious an error he might have made.  This weekend, for better or worse, would once again change the dynamics of their relationship.  Sam wasn’t the only prey at stake; their entire relationship would be on the line.  But now that they were in the wolf’s den, the only thing Alan could do was continue to trust the predator to follow nature’s rule of pack mentality: Alan had established himself as the Alpha, with Sam as his protected mate.  The arena had changed, but the rule was the same.  

_ I have the right to feel safe in the presence of my Master _ .  Alan had promised, and he would hold to that promise tonight, and tomorrow, and until his very last breath.

***

Alan tasted delicious.  He tasted like power with a zing of confidence and an aftertaste of control.  He was a wall of a man – but no wall went on forever.  This was a wall Ed had scaled.

Still, the feeling that dominated Ed’s emotions toward the evening, whatever demeanor he might be projecting, had nothing to do with that.  He had no intention of being cruel; no intention of trying to test or break the bond between Alan and Sam.  On the contrary.  He had a multitude of respect for the two of them, for the way they lived and breathed and loved…

He respected it to the point of envy, because he knew they still viewed him as an outsider.  Over the next two days, he sincerely hoped to change that.  He wanted to play with Sam, yes, wanted to play with that body on his own terms, but more than that – he wanted to prove to Alan that he could bring pleasure to all three of them.

After parting from Alan, Ed waved an arm to lead them into the dining room, where he pulled back a chair for Alan.  The move was calculated, a silent bow to a secondary position even in his own domain, and he saw the confusion flicker for just a second on Alan’s face before the older man took the offered seat.  And then Ed stepped behind his own chair, and waited.

It was a silent dance; an establishment of power that Ed had hoped would set the tone.  It took Sam a full thirty seconds and one throat-clearing warning from Alan, but Sam did eventually pull back Ed’s chair, and Ed sat, giving Sam a nod of thanks.  “Sit,” he ordered Sam, tipping his hand to the empty chair to Alan’s left.  

“I’m not a dog.”

It was almost as if the boy couldn’t stop himself – like on some level, no matter how submissive he appeared, he was programmed to offer instinctual responses to certain cues.  But Ed simply clasped his hands under his chin and let his lips slide up into a sly grin, giving a slight shake of his head to Alan as an indicator that Sam’s rudeness should be dismissed.  “No,” he agreed, “you’re not a dog.”

They commenced with dinner then, a simple pasta-and-salad affair, which Ed had prepared because Alan had told him it was Sam’s favorite.  Again, it was all part of Ed’s design.  And it worked – Sam’s shoulders relaxed as he ate, and the three of them engaged in light conversation – the gorgeous 5-day weather forecast, the new admin temp at ENCOM who’d worn mismatched shoes yesterday, Sam’s plans for a half-marathon near the end of autumn.  And somehow, a natural rhythm established itself, such that when the meal was finished, it only made sense for Sam to stand and clear the table.  It seemed so fluid to Ed, who watched the sub’s every move; this, too, had become an ingrained behavior.  It fascinated Ed to no end that someone as rebellious as Sam could be such a perfect submissive.  Try as he might, he couldn’t reconcile those two parts of Sam’s personality.  They were like two puzzle pieces that shouldn’t fit together, but did…

It needed further exploration.  Ed wanted to get to the bottom of what made Sam tick, that was the bottom line.  He needed to know.  He needed to take Sam apart.

“Gentlemen,” he said, standing, as the last dish left the table, “if you’ll follow me, please.”

***  

Sam had never worn the slave’s hood.  He was fairly certain Alan didn’t even own one.

As Ed secured its straps and latches and Sam closed his eyes, then opened them only to find no relief from the darkness, he found himself immersed in conflicting emotions – the hood was at the same time stifling and comforting.  The all-leather fixture wasn’t at all physically uncomfortable, and yet he found himself sweating, reaching up to pull at his collar – an old nervous habit from the early days with Alan, all but abandoned these days – scrambling to search his mind for some sense of calm.  A thought flitted through his mind that he was surprised Ed had left his hands free – but he had.  The hood was the only toy in play at the moment.  Sam hadn’t even been ordered to his knees.  He stood presented before Ed, his feet slightly apart, and he realized the lack of physical restraint made him almost uncomfortable.  It was as if he was being given the option to flee.  His mind churned on that, and his breath began to come faster.

“Relax,” Ed said, and it registered as a command, but a conversational one.  Then he felt Ed’s hands rest on his shoulders.  “Take a few deep breaths.  In… out.  Again.”  Sam followed the lead, because in the darkness in which he found himself, that was all he could do.  There was no Alan to reach out for.  There was only Ed.  But somehow… somehow that was enough.  “I’m right behind you.”  Ed’s voice seemed… different.  Try as he might, Sam couldn’t pinpoint the slightest hint of menace in the tone.  It was a comforting guide, like Alan’s usually became when he was trying to head off Sam’s panic.  Could Ed finally have learned…?  No.  He wouldn’t soften.  It wasn’t in his character.

And yet Ed’s next words, as Sam drew another breath in, held it for a moment, and then exhaled through his mouth, seemed to further support the point.  “You won’t fall.”  He laid tiny kisses along the back of Sam’s neck, the way Alan often did before they went into a scene.  Then he inhaled deeply and murmured, “You smell like lavender.  Did you bathe before coming to visit me?” and pressed his nose into Sam’s skin.

“Master bathed me,” Sam returned, and he surprised himself how calmly, how easily the statement tumbled out.  Ed’s words and presence, his touch, had relaxed Sam, and the sub hadn’t even noticed.

“Good, good.”  A long, quiet moment passed, and in it, Ed held Sam almost lovingly.  He pressed an obviously unclothed erection against the small of Sam’s back, but he didn’t grind; he let his hands wander ever so slightly over Sam’s pecs, but he didn’t grope.  Then he asked, “When was the last time you masturbated?” and Sam’s breath stopped in his chest.

“I…”  He felt his cheeks burning and was grateful for the hood, because it allowed for his embarrassment, at least, to be hidden.  “I don’t…”

Then the hands began to move – to grope and squeeze and probe.  Sam felt fingers playing over his sensitive anus – tickling, almost, with how feather-light the touch was.  But it felt so wonderful, so blissfully amazing that Sam couldn’t hold back his moan.

That’s when he was penetrated.  Deep, hard, without ceremony.  Lube, thank Heaven for the lube, but the dildo was long and thick and Ed shoved it in with one push.  “This is my house,” he growled, and there,  _ there _ was Ed Sir; there was the tone that promised no mercy short of a safeword.  “My house, my rules.  And in my house, subs are respectful of Doms at all times, do you understand?”  

“Yyyyes Sir.  Yes, Ed Sir, I understand,” Sam choked out, closing his eyes again because the hood forced him to hold onto only those things he could feel and hear and smell, and it was Ed, Ed, everywhere Ed except for the searing pain of whatever was invading his body.  Holding onto Ed was the preferable option.

But Ed only chuckled and pulled back the cursed phallus an inch.  “No, see, I don’t think you do.  I think you like to  _ think _ that you do, and you like to  _ play _ that you do, and maybe you respect Alan… but I’m not so sure you’ve ever respected  _ me _ .  That stunt at dinner tonight?  Don’t think I’ve forgotten that.  So I’ll ask again…  _ boy _ .”  He let a pause pass, and Sam felt tears prick at his eyes.  “When was the last time you masturbated?”

“Four weeks ago, Sir,” Sam whispered, and swallowed hard, mustering his control.  He wouldn’t lose it already.  This was just conversation, and it should be easy.  Sam and Alan talked about sex and orgasms all the time.

But this wasn’t Alan.

“Four weeks ago.  Good.”  He pulled the dildo out and returned his fingers to the opening, caressing, teasing, and soon Sam had forgotten the pain.  “Tell me about it,” he intoned, again conversationally, curiously, as though they might have been talking about Sam’s weekend plans or the weather.

“It was, um, after… after work on a Monday.  We were both tired, but Alan said his back hurt and requested a backrub, so I… I undressed him, and I used the massage oil we keep in his nighstand.”

“Mmmm… the aromatheraphy stuff?  With the chamomile?”

“Yeah.”  Ed shoved the dildo back inside of Sam, and Sam cried out.  “I – yes Sir!  Yes, Ed Sir, the aromatheraphy oil.  And… And… Ahhhh…”

“Keep going.  This is a good story.  And you seem to be enjoying the memory.”

It was only then that Sam realized he was getting hard.  Again, his cheeks burned under the hood, and he felt his knees begin to shake as Ed again pulled the dildo out and returned to gentle, intimate caresses.  Now one hand played in back while the other snaked around and began to ghost over the length of Sam’s growing erection.  “I, um.  I…”

“Don’t stutter, boy.”  It was growled, and then Ed took hold of Sam’s cock in a fist and Sam cried out again, his voice echoing off the dungeon walls.  “You should be proud of how slutty you are, that just the memory of pleasing your Master makes you hard.  Scream it to the world how much of a whore you are.  Go on.”  Sam felt his ass being filled yet again with the phallus, and then Ed squeezed and squeezed on Sam’s dick until he couldn’t hold in the shout.  “Good boy.  Very good.”  The hand disappeared from Sam’s cock entirely, and the dildo in his ass began a gentle fucking.  “Now.  You were saying.”

Sam had to clear his throat to keep the tears out of his voice, but he was determined now.  He would finish this story; he had to.  And he would do it without getting any harder.  “I gave him a full-body massage, head to toe, for an hour.  By the time I finished, he was almost asleep, he was so relaxed.”

“I bet it felt great.  Your hands are magical.”  There was the slightest of touches to Sam’s palm, and it made Sam shiver, and damn his cock, damn the thing, it wouldn’t stay down… and all Sam could do was keep talking or face the consequences.  

“I pulled the blanket around him and he cuddled me for a bit, but when he started to come to, he was hard, and he pointed out that I’d, um, missed a spot… and so I… I…”

“Say it.”  There were no physical ramifications to Sam’s hesitation, but the warning in Ed’s tone was clear.

“I gave him a handjob.”

“And he came?”

“He did, Sir.  He came, and then he said he was very tired, but he wanted to watch me cum.  He allowed me to touch myself for his pleasure.”

“And did you enjoy it?  The feel of your own hand, your own rhythm?  The eyes of your Master, watching your every move, listening to your every sound?”

“Yes Sir.”  Sam could only whisper it, and as soon as it was out, he knew he’d made an error.  “Yes Sir, it felt good, Sir,” he tried louder, but not loud enough, because that blasted dildo was shoved back in, and Sam cried out.  “It felt so good, so good to touch my cock…”

“Your slutty cock.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Say it!”

“It felt so good to touch my slutty cock, Sir, so good to cum for my Master, to squeeze my own balls again Sir!”  Sam knew now that he was crying, and that the tears, hidden beneath the hood, were obvious in his tone.  As his statement came to an end, he began to weep, and Ed took a step back from him.

And then Sam was alone on an island.  It was warm and comfortable, with blue skies and black-sand beaches and tiny little pebbles that glistened in the sun.  The water sparkled and there wasn’t a single cloud.

And there wasn’t Alan.

***

Alan shifted as he saw Sam’s shoulder slump.  He’d been in full recline, just watching, aroused by Sam’s storytelling, by the memory of that night.  But the Master in him came alert with Sam’s obvious surrender.  He sat up on the edge of the plush black leather couch Ed must have added specifically for Alan’s benefit, feet on the floor, and took his hand off his aching erection.  A word of warning to Ed was on the tip of Alan’s tongue, but before he could say anything, Ed held his palm up to Alan and turned to look at him.  He said nothing – clearly trying very hard not to interrupt a well-designed scene – but the look in his eyes pled for trust, and as Alan watched, he noticed that Ed was doing all the right things.  He silently pressed his fist into Sam’s right palm, waiting for a squeeze.

It was the first time he’d seen Ed initiate a safe gesture, and it made Alan raise his eyebrows in surprise.

It took Sam a full ten-count to squeeze back, but he did, and so Ed stepped back from the boy, and Alan settled back against the comfort of the couch, curious to see if Ed would follow the safety check to completion.  

“Sam?”

“Yes Sir.”  Sam’s tone wavered, but his response indicated he was all right, and Ed had done his job.  He’d done it fully and properly in a way Alan had never, ever seen.  It was mature, and unexpected, and welcome…

And incredibly hot.

“I like talking to you, Sam.  Having this conversation with you about your slutty little cock has made me quite hard.  I’m touching myself right now, Sam.  Looking at you, stroking my length.”  He was, too.  And the glance he shot to Alan right then didn’t go unnoticed, either.  “Should I keep stroking myself, Sam?”

So far, Sam only wore the hood.  He was nude but unrestrained, standing in a presented position before Ed.  But as Ed waited for an answer to this question, he circled toward Sam, clearly already planning his next move.  “Ed Sir may do… whatever he desires.  If it pleases him to touch himself, then… he should…”

“Should I masturbate until I cum on your body?  Mark you with my scent?  I think that sounds like a good idea.  Do you know who’s watching me masturbate, Sam?”

“My Master.”  Sam’s whisper filled the room.

“That’s right.  And it appears that he’s enjoying our little scene very much.  He’s so hard, Sam, you wouldn’t believe it.  I bet he’d like nothing better than to come over here and fuck you right now.”  It was the first time Ed had ever called attention to Alan in the middle of a scene with Sam.  He was momentarily distracted, and he missed the split second it took for Ed to nudge Sam to his knees.  “Open.”  That returned Alan to the present, and he watched as Ed deftly removed the hood and began jerking himself off in earnest, poised to deliver a load to Sam’s face.  It took less than a minute, and there was enough that Ed must have been saving it up for days, just for this moment.  Sam closed his eyes, but thick globs of cum hit his cheek, his forehead, streaked down his nose… Ed dribbled the last drops on Sam’s tongue.  “Don’t close your mouth.  I want to see.”  Sam complied, and Ed inspected for probably longer than was necessary.  It was the demeaning side of Ed that Alan had never possessed, and in all honesty had never considered to be part of dominance.

But it was certainly part of Ed’s style, whatever he called it.

“Very good,” Ed was saying.  “You may swallow.”

Sam did so dutifully, and then returned, “Thank you, Ed Sir.”

Ed smirked, and in the dim light, poised over Sam’s kneeling form, the other Dom looked especially menacing.  “So perfect.  So compliant, so submissive.”  He paused a beat and stepped back from Sam before passing sentence.  “I don’t buy it.”

Alan raised his eyebrows as Ed guided Sam to his feet and led him over to the equipment Alan thought better suited for a doctor’s office.  As a bit gag was secured in Sam’s mouth and around his head, Alan shivered.   _ Stay tuned for Act Two _ , he thought, and returned his fingers to his cock.


	5. Spice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed's scene has unexpected consequences for all three parties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for a whole lotta stuff: toys, humiliation, sub space, denial, M/M/m sex, severe sub drop, and fluff.

The island was safe and comfortable, and even though the sand sometimes burned his feet, it was OK.  There was a wolf who was friendly as long as Sam did and said the right things.  He couldn’t remember meeting the wolf before, but he must have, because they seemed to be working out some kind of code.  The wolf asked questions, and Sam answered.  If he answered correctly, it felt good.  If he answered incorrectly, it hurt.  The wolf had figured out how to touch Sam’s mind.  It was terrifyingly intimate, and Sam felt all the while as though the wolf was slowly backing him toward the edge of a cliff.  Eventually, he knew he’d fall.  It was a necessary part of this scene.  He had to trust the wolf that there would be a safe landing below.

Yes, he could trust this predator.  It was clear now.  How could someone who seemed to know him so well be a danger?  There would be no harm in falling over this cliff.  But Sam wasn’t ready to let go yet.  He no longer feared the wolf, but he certainly was afraid of the fall.

***

Aside from the fact that seeing Sam’s face covered with cum was incredibly hot, Ed had needed to orgasm if he was going to follow this night through to completion the way he’d planned.  Now his balls were less heavy and his head was clear, and he could focus on the task at hand – getting to the bottom of the submissive Sam Flynn.

“Do you know what I like best about you, Sam?” he asked as he fitted a double-helix cock ring around Sam’s cock and balls.  Sam looked at him fearfully, chomping at the bit in his mouth, and Ed laughed softly.  “Ah.  That’s right.”  He released the gag and shook his head at his own mis-step, hoping Alan didn’t think poorly of him for it.  “As I was saying, do you know what I like best about you?”  There was still no response.  Ed fiddled in a nearby drawer, selecting a couple of tools.  When he’d made his choices, he returned to Sam’s side.  “That wasn’t a rhetorical question.  I expect an answer.”

He watched the boy’s Adam’s apple bob with a hard swallow.  “N-no Sir, I don’t.”

Ed smirked and pressed the spiked wheel of a Wartenburg Pinwheel against Sam’s left thigh.  “Guess.”

“My, um.  My ass, Sir?”  Ed shook his head and slowly, gently ran the wheel up toward Sam’s groin.  “My tongue?”  Ed smirked down at his prey, delighted by the beautifully deep blush that started in Sam’s face and crept back toward his ears.  How the burning must contrast with the zings of pleasure he was receiving from the pinwheel.

“Your rebelliousness,” Ed finally supplied, and pressed a bit harder with the toy, until he heard Sam hiss in a breath that might have been either pleasure or pain – likely a bit of both.  “No matter how submissive you appear to be, it’s always there, always lurking beneath this collected surface.  It’s the essence of you.  Without it, you’d be just any other submissive.  But... the thing is… I understand the rebelliousness.  I love it,” he continued as he brought the pinwheel to an abrupt halt halfway up Sam’s left thigh, “but I can figure it out.  I’ve known you a long time, and you’ve always had that side to you.  It’s unlikely that you’d give it up just because you became Alan Bradley’s submissive.  What I can’t figure out – what I absolutely cannot puzzle out, no matter how much I think about it – is what happened to the slut you used to be.”  Sam was squirming as the spikes of the pinwheel pressed into the tender flesh of his inner thigh, and that made Ed chuckle under his breath.  The sub was painfully hard, leaking despite the cockring, and Ed could only imagine how the pinwheel must feel just sitting on his skin, digging in just slightly with its tiny teeth.  “I think he’s still there too, just like the rebelliousness.  I think even now, to some degree, you let me do what I’m doing because you believe that if you’re a very good boy, you’ll be rewarded with soft touches and at least one orgasm.”

Sam whimpered then and bucked his hips, and Ed laughed outright and removed the toy from Sam’s skin.  He reached behind him for an enema kit and watched the fear dawn in Sam’s eyes as he readied it.  “Knees up,” he instructed, and moved Sam into position without waiting for compliance.  “That’s not how it’s going to be tonight,” he sentenced, looking into Sam’s eyes to make sure he got the message.  “I’m going to bring you all the way down, just like your Master did when he broke you, and by the time I finish, you’ll be begging for a cock in your mouth, in your ass, even just to touch, not because you think you’ll get something out of it, but because you  _ want _ and you  _ need _ to please me.” 

A sob escaped Sam – the sub’s only reply as Ed began his kinky game.

“The thing is, Sam,” he said softly, reaching up with a free hand to press a gentle thumb to Sam’s face, “when you get to the bottom, I’ll be there to catch you.  You have my word.”

***

Alan’s emotions and hormones were locked in a fierce battle for dominance within his soul.  Ed had told him in advance that he wanted to do a soapy enema tonight, but the plan and the reality didn’t quite balance out.  As Sam began to sob, and then to cry out in agony, and finally to thrash under Ed’s ministrations, Alan tensed to the point of clenched fists.  He bit his lower lip so hard it brought forth the metallic taste of his own blood, and to his surprise, tears filled his eyes.

_ So this is what it’s like _ , he thought to himself as he began to fidget and the emotion won out.   _ This is what it’s like to feel someone else’s pain.   _ He’d never been a sub, and so this point of view was alien to him – to sit back, to release control.  He couldn’t do it.  He couldn’t.  Panic rose in his gut and he moved to the edge of the couch.

“Ed.”  His voice was hoarse as the warning came forth.  It wasn’t a safeword, but it was a Master’s warning, and it was enough to draw Ed’s attention.

The other Dom’s eyes pled for trust, though, and the depth of emotion in them caught Alan by surprise.  “Please.”  It was barely audible – Ed clearly did not want to break the scene – but Alan heard it.  And it was enough.

He sat back and let Sam’s whimpers wash over him.

Something was happening here.  Something was changing in this room tonight, something about their dynamic, something about the way they lived and the way they played.  Alan knew it for sure as Ed flushed the enema and Sam, drained and pale and weak, curled into a ball and wept…

And clung to Ed.

***   

There was blissful utopia at the bottom of the cliff.

Sam went to this island often, but he’d never known about the cliff, and he certainly hadn’t known that after a long fall, he would land on puffy white clouds and feel no pain and be an angel, running naked over the soft ground and bathing in waterfalls.  There was no pain here.  There was bliss, only bliss, and Sam could only think that he wanted more, more, more of this.  He wanted to be here forever.  It was deeper and farther and it just felt like more than the world he’d left behind.  He was crying with joy, weeping because there were fresh berries hanging from the trees and he could eat as many as he wanted, and the sun was pleasantly warm.  Heaven.  Surely this was heaven.

***

There was a change in Sam.  Ed saw it, and he was certain that Alan did, too.  Sam clung to Ed’s waist, arms hugging him close, for a solid ten minutes as he wept.  And Ed just stroked his hair, didn’t push forward with his plans, didn’t force.  This was part of what he’d wanted, after all – to get to the bottom of Sam.  And at the bottom of Sam, at the very, very deep, dark bottom of this wonderful boy, was the unexpected.  There wasn’t a slutty whore.  There wasn’t a tongue reaching out for any cock that might satisfy his oral fixation.  

There was only a broken boy, full of grief and loss, needing only to be wanted, needed, cared for.

That’s all there had been all along.

And so Ed just stood and let himself be hugged in this childlike manner until the tears subsided, until Sam quieted.

And when the sub looked up at him, there was something in his eyes.  His pupils were dilated, and in general his beautiful blues were glassy.  He appeared to be dreaming with his eyes open, and the tiny smile on his lips was contented and relaxed.

Ed had never seen subspace until that moment.  He had no reason to go there, but Sam was showing it to him in this very moment, and it froze Ed to his spot.  He couldn’t move.  He couldn’t think.  He couldn’t do anything except wait for this amazing boy to swim back to a place where he was ready and able to move forward.

He was vaguely aware of Alan approaching from behind and setting a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he looked away from Sam to turn and look at the old Dom, who wore a sympathetic smile.

“This is what it’s about,” Alan imparted gently, and it was such a simple statement, but it carried more weight than Ed could bear.

“I—I can’t—how do I even…?”  He was trying desperately not to spiral out of control, but his mind wanted so badly to go.

“You’ll do it.  You’ll do it because it’s a mutual turn on – because he needs to play his part just as much as you need to play yours.  You’ll do it because you care for him and he’s  _ asking you _ to dominate him.  You’ll do it because if you don’t, he’ll lose all respect for you as a Dom.   You’ll do it because if you don’t, you won’t be satisfied, and neither will he.  You brought him to this place.  It’s your responsibility to care for him now.”

Ed nodded, leaning into Alan’s touch slightly.  Then the touch was gone, and Ed turned to face the boy again.  Same glassy stare, same smile.  He wasn’t even sure Sam had blinked. 

A deep breath, a long exhale, and Ed took his first steps into uncharted territory.       

***

The wolf was there at the bottom of the cliff.

Sam couldn’t say for sure how he’d gotten there, but he was there all the same.  

But it was OK.  It really was.  Sam smiled at the wolf and held out his hand, and the wolf came up and sniffed it.  He nipped at Sam’s fingers.  He nuzzled Sam’s cheek.  The wolf was a different creature than he’d been before.

On a certain level, Sam was fully aware that the wolf wasn’t a wolf at all.  The wolf was Edward Dillinger – a predator, a danger, suddenly transforming into a trustworthy being.  And he was aware that he wasn’t walking on clouds, that there were no waterfalls.  If he opened his eyes and truly concentrated, the illusion fell away and they were in a dimly lit room in Dillinger’s cabin in the woods.  Sam knew he was on his knees before Ed, that he’d willingly and in fact gratefully taken that pose, that he was sucking Ed’s cock with fervor as never before, that he felt slutty and dirty but oh so perfect right where he was.  And that explained the fluffy white clouds and the waterfalls well enough for Sam to be content with the images he saw behind his eyelids.

His mouth was suddenly empty, and it felt  _ so _ empty, and Sam whimpered as though he had lost something.  The wolf – he had lost sight of the wolf, that was it.  And he felt so naked and afraid, and the clouds threatened to turn gray…

But then the wolf was back, then  _ Ed _ was back, bless him, bless  _ Ed Sir _ , and Sam felt the press of something against his asshole and pushed back into it instinctively, whimpering, needy, wanting, just  _ wanting _ to be full of Ed and Alan and  _ everything _ .  

“No,” came Ed’s voice harshly, and then the sting of something against his ass cheeks, but Sam still whimpered more in need than in pain.

“ _ Please _ ,” he begged, but the sting came again.

“Why should I?  Why should I fuck you, hmmm?  I know you don’t even like me.  You just need a cock in your ass, you greedy little whore.  Your Master should rent you out, make a little money off you, that’s what I think.”

Sam wavered on the edge of fantasy and reality, on the edge of pain and pleasure.  

“No, I—Ed Sir, I just… I just need you.  Please.  My ass is… so…”

“Your ass is so well-fucked,” the wolf barked.  Again, the pain, the sting.  Sam knew he was crying now, but it wasn’t in pain, not at all. 

“I know,” he sobbed.  No excuses, not anymore.

“Is that all you need from me?  My cock?”

“No.”

“What else, then, hmmm?”

“I need you, Ed Sir. I need your touch, your words, your guidance, I need  _ you _ .”

Bliss, then.  Absolute bliss and Sam was back to walking on clouds and eating fruit from the trees and he felt so complete, so full, so  _ satisfied _ just to have Ed Sir moving inside of him.  He didn’t even feel the need to cum.  This was enough.  Except for one thing.

“Alan,” he breathed, and Ed paused in his rhythm just long enough for Sam to notice.  “Master.”

Ed Sir paused mid-stroke, broke his rhythm, threatened the comfort of subspace.  Panic rose in Sam’s chest.

“Master.”  This time it was a sob.  “Don’t leave me.”

***

Alan didn’t need any further invitation, and damn Ed and his plans and his rules, Alan couldn’t stand by and watch any longer.  He approached with a purposeful stride and sank to his knees in front of his sub, cupping Sam’s chin in his hands, kissing his forehead.  “Shhh,” he hushed, smoothing back the boy’s hair.  “I’m here now.”

Sam smiled at him, but only briefly.  Then Ed thrust forward and Sam moaned deeply in pleasure.  He reached a hand out for Alan’s erection, which had deflated a bit at the signs that Sam was in distress but perked right back up at the sub’s eager grasp.

Alan frowned and took another look into Sam’s eyes.

He had never seen the boy so completely at peace.  

And so he did the only thing that made sense: He offered Sam his cock, putting at the boy’s mouth.  And Sam accepted the invitation with an unexplainable eagerness, giving Alan perhaps his best blowjob to date.  And that was saying an awful lot.

Later, he’d wonder if this had all been a dream.  Even in the moment it seemed surreal, like he was a little drunk and looking at everything through a smoky haze.  Momentarily it took him back to that very first night in that very first club, to the haze and the man and the woman in the scene, to Sarge and Cal… to Tony.  

_ “His Master’s quite the voyeur.  Likes to watch, likes to be watched.” _

Was he Cal, now?  

No.  No.  Alan was certain he was a better Master than Cal.  Sam had called out for him.  Sam wanted him, needed him.  And Ed.

Ed was better than Cal, too.

He wasn’t sure how long he held out, only that he came, and that Sam swallowed gratefully and then thanked him without prompting.  He knew that Ed came as well, deep inside Sam’s body, and that Sam thanked him through a whimper.  And he knew that in response, Ed came around and touched Sam’s hair gently.  Gingerly.  As though he didn’t want to break the boy.

Because now, for the first time, he knew that he could.

Alan took it upon himself to kiss Ed, then – not to possess him or mark him but just to  _ kiss _ him.  And then Sam, wonderful, beautiful, precious Sam – Alan  _ did _ possess him, as a Master should.  He kissed him to remind him of their love.  He kissed him for a job well done.  And he opened his arms to both young men to say  _ welcome home _ .

***  

Sam woke up twice during the night.  

The first time, it registered only that he was groggy and his limbs felt so terribly heavy from exhaustion that he couldn’t move.  He tried to call out, but only a whimper escaped.

“Shhhh.”  Alan’s arms came around him, and a kiss pressed into his neck, and Sam felt the softness of the mattress beneath him and the down comforter around his naked form, and he fell back into a dreamless sleep.

The second time, he was less groggy, and woke up enough that he began to mentally process the events of the evening.  Or… he wanted to, but he was so emotionally drained that his attempts to remember and reconcile it with his current situation brought him immediately to tears.  The first ones fell quickly and silently down his right cheek, but then he began to shiver and pulled his knees to his chest and then a sob came out, and he was crying so hard he wasn’t sure he knew how to stop.

“Sam.”  A body folded over him, around him, enveloping him like a cocoon.  “Sam.”

“M—mmm—master,” Sam choked out through his sobs, and he was still shaking, and as he opened his eyes, he felt so disoriented that for a moment, he wasn’t entirely sure where he was.

“Relax, Sam.  You’re safe.  I’ve got you.”

“Master,” Sam said again, and he knew he sounded like a lost child.  He hated this part, the part where he was coming off the high and just felt so incredibly lonely and vulnerable.

“Right here, Sam.”  It came from his other side.  The first voice, the one that had spoken to assure his safety, wasn’t Alan’s.

It was Ed.  Ed Sir.  And this was Ed Sir’s cabin in the woods, and this was his big bed, and all three of them were in it together.  

It was warm here, in this bed, with Master and Ed Sir.  It was warm, and comfortable, and safe.  

He willed his body to relax, and slowly but surely it obeyed.  His sobs subsided and the tremors lessened and then stopped.  Completely spent, Sam let sleep claim him once more.

***

Sam woke twice during the night.  

Both times, Ed and Alan woke with him.  

The first time, Ed let Alan take the lead.  Sam was disoriented, weak and scared, and Alan was his safety net.  Ed simply observed them as one might a pair of chimps in the zoo, wondering how it was that they were the same as he was, and yet so different.

The second time, though, there was no observing.  Sam’s reaction was more severe, and Ed simply acted on instinct.  He folded himself around Sam, making himself a warm blanket, whispering words of comfort and “shhh”ing him as he sobbed… until he stopped, and fell back to sleep as though it had all been a terrible dream.

There was no going back to sleep after that, not for Ed.  He pulled the down comforter up to Sam’s neck and looked over the sub’s sleeping form at Alan.  “It’s not always like this.”  His own voice surprised him, laden with exhaustion and worry.

Alan shook his head.  “Sam is…  He’s as kinky as the day is long.  When it’s just a scene, just kinky sex, he can go with that.  It satisfies him, sates his desires… his emotions don’t enter into it.  But sometimes…  He was like this when I broke him, and every now and then it resurfaces, when a scene is especially emotional.  He drops hard.  He’ll be fine in the morning, but tonight…”

“I did this to him.”  Ed felt a pang of regret he couldn’t quite explain.

But Alan’s hand fell on his head, smoothed his hair in a gesture all but alien to the young Dom, but comforting all the same.  “No.  You did this  _ for _ him.”  A kiss, tender, searching.  “Get some sleep.  We have a whole day ahead of us.”

But he didn’t.  He couldn’t.  The sound of Alan’s soft snores filled the air, and Ed folded his hands under his head and stretched out on his side, looking at Sam.

Had he always looked so innocent?  

Had he always been so fragile?

Gingerly, he ran his fingers along one exposed forearm.

“Mmm.”  Sam didn’t even stir, but he moved into the touch ever so slightly.

And Ed smiled into the darkness, and continued his watch.


	6. Blend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Resolution for all parties. Happy, fun, polyamorous love. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming to the end of this piece - but never fear, there's more in the series! This last chapter is made of fluff. Very mild angst as Ed reflects on his past, and brief mentions of contracts and blowjobs but that's about it. The boys are content. :)

The third time Alan woke up, it was slowly, to the sound of low voices.  He smiled into his pillow that one of those voices was Sam’s, and that he sounded content, and not at all frightened as he’d been at the previous two wake-ups.

The other voice belonged to Ed, of course.  He was the one speaking as Alan swam to consciousness.   It took Alan a second to focus enough to hear the young Dom, but he kept his eyes closed.  He wanted to observe, and he needed to think.

“…Since I was a teenager,” Ed was saying, and his voice was no louder than a murmur, so Alan suspected he was holding Sam, speaking near his ear.  “Everyone’s thinking about sex then, you know, and I just knew that I was different.  I couldn’t quite put it into words, and when I finally could, I didn’t want to because I was afraid of what people would think of me.  I had a reputation to protect, you know, an image.  And if it got out that I enjoy… that it arouses me to bring pain to my lovers, I…”  Ed trailed off, and there was a rustling of blankets that suggested one or both of them was changing position.  Then there was the tiny sound of lips to skin, and Ed chuckled quietly.  “And that’s saying nothing of the fact that I preferred those lovers to be men.”

“Master said you used to break your subs here.”

“Mmmhmmm.  But I think those days are behind me.”

“Because of me.”

“And Alan.”  Alan felt something he couldn’t explain prickling at the back of his neck, then.  He bit his bottom lip to suppress any sound as Ed continued.  “I care about you both in a way I can’t explain.  I’ve never felt this way before, and… I’m afraid that you’ll decide you don’t want me.”

Behind his eyelids, Alan’s eyes went wide with surprise.  

Sam didn’t respond with words, but once again there was the sound of lips to skin, or lips to lips… it was hard to say.

“You’re sweet.”  There was that soft laugh again, but it sounded sad this time.  “But you belong to someone else.  You’re a collared sub, Sam.  This isn’t the way things are done.”

“I know.”  Sam sounded incredibly torn, almost sad.  Alan gave a small sigh into his pillow.  Time to give up the game and step into the conversation.

“Fuck the way things are done, Edward.”  It was groggy and half-mumbled, but Alan knew he was speaking clearly enough to be understood.  Then he pushed himself up into a sitting position and took in the two of them, the way Ed was propped up by a couple of pillows and Sam was curled up at his side, his head on Ed’s bare chest, and Ed’s arms circling his back.  They both started a bit at Alan’s voice, and Sam lifted his head and pulled away from Ed slightly.

“Master, I—“

But Alan held up a hand to stop him mid-sentence.  “It’s all right, Sam.  It’s—“  He dropped his hand and sighed.  “We should get dressed and talk, I think.”

Ed smiled at him over Sam’s shoulder.  “You stay here.  I’ll make breakfast.”  And he was up and out of bed, pulling on a robe before either of them could object.

***

The vanilla was the first thing Ed put on the table.  He was determined to do this right, and if that meant he had to change his ways a bit, then so be it.

Then he made waffles – from scratch, with blueberries added to the batter after he discovered an unopened package of them in the freezer.  He frowned as he tossed them into the metal bowl and folded them in – when had he bought these?  And why?  He hadn’t brought a sub here in… over a year.  He hadn’t set his focus on anyone but Sam Flynn since that very first night at Alan’s house, with Old Man Flynn and Alan on the couch, when he’d pushed and pushed and pushed and still Sam had saved his orgasm for Alan.

Sam was the best sub Ed had ever had… but that was it, wasn’t it?  Sam wasn’t _his_.  Sam would never be his, not entirely.  His heart and his soul belonged to Alan, even if sometimes his body was on loan to Ed.

A ball of lead settled into Ed’s gut and without his permission, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and he felt his face flush for the loss of something he’d never really had.  Had any sub ever loved him?  Had he ever loved a sub?

Did he love Sam?

He shook his head and swiped at his eyes with the back of his free left hand as he finished adding the berries and poured the first bit of batter into the waffle maker.

It was Adam.  That’s why he had the blueberries.

Two years ago he’d convinced a young man named Adam to wear his collar, which was foolish, because the way Ed saw it back then, the collar was what made a sub belong to him.  Now the thought was so laughable that Ed did find himself chuckling at his naiveté.  Nonetheless, that had been his way of thinking for Adam and for the two failed relationships before.  Adam was younger than Ed by at least ten years, and what he knew about being a sub could fit on the head of a pin.  In hindsight, their relationship had been the blind leading the blind.  They’d spent two weeks here after Ed had put that collar on Adam.  He’d leashed him and gagged him and bound him and fucked him and then not fucked him and there had been whipping and pain and blood… and very little tenderness, because in Ed’s eyes, Adam’s refusal to adapt to certain aspects of the lifestyle was cause for punishment.  If he spanked enough, if he whipped enough, if he left enough scars, the boy would break.  But no.  The more Adam learned about his future as a submissive, the more he rebelled.  He only wanted someone to love him.  Where Ed had thought the collar would make Adam belong to him, Adam had wanted _only_ to belong.  Ed’s collar had given him that, and after awhile, it was clear that it gave him very little else.

Blueberry cheesecake was Adam’s favorite desert, and Ed had planned to make it as a reward when training was finished, for dinner on the last night at the cabin before they returned to the city, to Ed’s home.  But that day had never come.  After two weeks, Adam had removed the collar and handed it to Ed, sniffling, crying, saying he simply hadn’t realized what he might have gotten into, and this wasn’t how he wanted to live the rest of his life.  And then he had left.

The collar wasn’t what made Sam belong to Alan.  Sam had removed that stinking collar for days after their last Vanilla Talk, but in his heart, he was still Alan’s.  He’d always been Alan’s.  The collar was like a wedding ring, Ed supposed now.  You wear it or you don’t, but the heart knows what it knows.

In his reverie, Ed had somehow managed to prepare ten Belgian waffles, one at a time – pour, steam, remove, repeat.  Ten times, and he hadn’t even realized it until he went to pour another and no batter came from the upturned bowl.  He blinked at the stack, then laughed at himself and put the mixing bowl and spoon in the sink and moved the waffles to the table.  He quickly added yogurt and granola to a bowl and set that on the table as well, along with three glasses of orange juice and three cups of coffee.  There.  It was perfect.  It was just like that first day.  

Wasn’t it?

“Soup’s on!” He called out, and then he sat down at the head of the table, sipped his orange juice, and waited.

***

Sam noticed the vanilla and stretched his arms far over his head, yawning freely, then shrugged his shoulders around a bit.  The bones cracked and he laughed at Ed’s obvious attempt to hide a wince as he finally sat down.  But he added, “Thanks for breakfast,” with a polite nod in Ed’s direction, because he could tell Ed was trying.  Really.  And Sam appreciated it in a way he couldn’t really express except in his own way.

Ed smiled at him – a small, sad smile that made Sam’s heart ache.  “It was the least I could do.”  The subdued tone of the young Dom’s voice only made the ache worse, and Sam almost got up and removed the vanilla from the table right then.

But he didn’t.  He couldn’t.  He wasn’t entirely sure what was going to be said at this breakfast table, a lifetime away from the last time the three of them sat like this, but he knew that he would need to feel free to speak his mind.  “No, it’s not,” he responded, and leaned over to gently press a kiss to Ed’s cheek before sitting down.

The first five minutes of breakfast passed in silence, save for the sound of silverware scraping on plates, and the sounds of chewing and swallowing.  For Sam’s part, he was giving Ed time, letting him gather his thoughts.  He suspected the same was true of Alan, who alternately glanced at Ed and Sam between bites.  A bit of tension settled into the air as the silence dragged out, and it built until Ed finally spoke.

“I don’t want this to be just about sex anymore,” he said, and he set his fork and knife down on either side of his plate, on which half a syrup-covered waffle still sat.  Sam and Alan looked at him then, but Sam wasn’t quite sure what to say, and Alan didn’t respond either.  “I—last night, I wanted… I wanted to show you both that I can do this.  That I care about you, that I can be part of this, that we can… I wanted to know more about the two of you than just your kink preferences.”

Alan took a slow bite of waffle before he said, “I think you got exactly what you wanted, Ed.  I think you had it before, in fact, and you were just too dense to see it.  If you were looking to bring emotion into play… mission accomplished.”

“But it’s more than that.  I don’t—I don’t want to just be a ‘sometimes’ thing anymore.  I want to know that I have something with you _always_ , or not at all.  I love you both, but every time we get together, I worry that it’ll be the last time, and I can’t do that anymore.  That’s it.  That’s—all my cards are on the table.  My heart can’t take the guessing anymore.”

A heavy silence followed Ed’s pronouncement, and it went on for so long that Ed lowered his eyes to his plate and found he was struggling against tears, because he was certain that when Alan spoke – it would be Alan, of course, vanilla or no vanilla – his words would be far from what Ed so wanted to hear.

“When Sam asked me to invite you back to play,” Alan finally began, and the emotion was so prevalent in the rasp of his deep voice that Ed still couldn’t look up, “I told him I wouldn’t share him.  I said he’s my submissive, and I wouldn’t share that authority with another Dom.  And I meant it—“

Ed finally looked up, and he didn’t care if the tears were showing as he met Alan’s gaze.  “That’s all I—“

“ _I meant it_ at the _time_ ,” Alan interrupted, taking the conversation back in hand even as he held up his palm to Ed, silently asking for patience, for room to finish his thought.  “You were right about what you said this morning.  This isn’t the way things are done.  A Dom is a Dom, and there’s really only room for one in a relationship.  Usually.  But I don’t… I don’t know how we did it, but this is… It works for us.  For the three of us.   _Somehow_ it works.”

“It’s fucked up,” Sam interjected then.  He looked right at Ed and offered a half-smile and a shrug.  “But it works.”

“There will have to be some rules, of course.  And like it or not, you’ll have to adhere to Sam’s rights and your responsibilities as a Dom when it comes to him.”

“Aftercare is important to me,” Sam said then, and it was soft and vulnerable, as though Sam was opening up a part of himself to Ed that he’d never shared with anyone other than Alan.  “No matter what else happened last night, that’s when you made your impression, and that’s when I respected you.”

Ed smiled softly.  “What else?”

“My favorite color is blue,” Sam offered.  “I like to read in the evenings before bed.  I still sometimes watch cartoons.  If I ask you how you take your coffee, I’ll never forget after you tell me once, but you have to tell me once.  And sometimes, I really… really like that you make me feel slutty, but only because I’ve figured out that on some level you do actually care about me.”  

“I like to read, too – magazines, usually, because I can’t seem to find a good stopping place in a long novel and end up staying up all night to finish it.  I like red.  And I… don’t really drink coffee,” Ed admitted, dipping his head and laughing in spite of himself.  “Only with the two of you.  I prefer tea.  And I like making you feel slutty because the power dynamic is exciting for me… I also like to hurt you.  But I only do it because I know you like it, too.”

“I’m a masochist,” Sam whispered, and he looked away from Ed when he said it.

“I know.  Why else would you tempt fate so much before you were collared?  The rush.  The pain.  You liked the bruises you got when you fell, and when you had to surrender yourself to the cops, that was just another level of submission for you.  You’re a submissive masochist.”

“And I’m not a sadist.”  That was Alan, and both younger men looked up at him with mild shock in their eyes, to which Alan gave an apologetic shrug.  “I’m not.  I don’t take pleasure from the application of pain.  But I’ve done it because that’s what Sam needs sometimes to be satisfied.  I’m a disciplined Dominant… I’ve said it before. Since you came back to us, it’s actually been a relief to not need to do those things anymore.”

“Because I _am_ ,” Ed acknowledged with a nod and a nervous tap of his fingertips on the table.  “I _am_ a sadistic Dominant.”

“And that’s why this works.”  Sam closed the loop of conversation.  “Except…”

“Ed and I will continue to be intimate with one another as well,” Alan offered, answering Sam’s unspoken question.   “But I think you’ll find it’s different from how we’re intimate with you.  You may even find it… interesting.”

Sam laughed at that, and the sharp sound seemed to dissipate any tension still standing in the room.  “Arousing, you mean.”

“Maybe.”  And Ed couldn’t help noticing there was intent in the way Alan said just that one word.  Then he reached a hand out to his left and took hold of one of Ed’s, squeezing gently.  His lips didn’t smile as wide as his eyes did.  And for the first time in a very long time, Ed saw something in the eyes of a lover other than confusion, other than submission, other than pain.  It was there if he focused.  It was even there when he turned his head away from Alan and made eye contact with Sam.  Just a flicker.  Just a hint, just the beginning, but it was there.

Love.

***

Things changed, then.  It was an evolution, sort of, and it was comfortably strange in a way Sam couldn’t explain.  There was a contract, to begin with, more solid and definitive about their roles than any that had existed before between the three of them.  Alan hadn’t drawn up a contract when he’d collared Sam – there was no need, he’d said.  Sam wasn’t a slave.  He wasn’t property.  He was free to do as he wished, for the most part.  And that didn’t change when Ed moved into Alan’s home, into their bed, into their world.  It was simply agreed that the waters would be less muddy for all concerned if certain things were written down.  For Ed, it was an easement, because he was being asked to change so much about the way he practiced the Lifestyle that the least Alan and Sam could do was give him this piece of paper that told him point-blank where he stood.  And for Alan and Sam, it was a comfort measure – failsafe protection for what they’d already built.  They wouldn’t compromise on most things, and they wouldn’t go backward.  But they would adjust, and they did adjust.

It took some time, but the three of them eventually established a comfortable dynamic.  When Ed played with Sam, he brought pleasurable pain.  There were whips and canes and chains and cockrings and toys to spare, and there was the edge to Ed’s voice that Sam decided was what he loved most about Ed Sir – “Look at you, slut.  Hard and leaking and I’ve barely touched you,” he’d say as he ran just the very tip of a flogger along Sam’s back as the sub was cuffed and suspended from the ceiling.  In moments like that, it was the striking contrast that made Sam hard.  Soft leather.  Pleasurable pain.  Welcome humiliation.  Ed calculated his touches and made Sam scream as much as he made him shiver.   _Polarized at both ends_ , Sam remembered.  It was still true.

Ed Sir was the only person allowed to call Sam a slut.

Alan brought discipline, as he always had – “Not yet, Sam.  Not until I say.”  And Alan only brought pain when he brought punishment.

Ed and Alan never had intercourse, but they _were_ intimate, sharing long, passionate kisses, caressing and holding one another… enjoying each other’s company. It was exactly as Alan had said so many months ago, and as time passed, Sam decided it was possible that the two Doms had not actually fucked that very first night.  It was entirely plausible, he thought as he felt the power radiate from their kisses, that they’d only done this, right here, and nothing more.  It seemed to be enough.

That was the thing, Sam supposed.  It didn’t matter at all, because what the three of them had now was exactly enough for everyone.

“You look happier than a pig in shit,” Kevin imparted to his son on a Tuesday morning in early September.  It was the day after Labor Day, the first day back to the office for all of them after a three-day weekend, and Sam had come to his father’s office wearing a new shirt and tie and a sly, satisfied grin.  “Good weekend?”

Sam chuckled and stepped into the CEO office suite, feeling a warm blush creep across his cheeks.  “Is it that obvious?”

“Well.”  The elder Flynn dutifully closed the door, then leaned his back against the dark hardwood as he said with a smile, “Only to someone who’s been in love before.  Did the three of you spend the whole weekend up at that cabin?”

“Came back this morning.”

“New shirt.”

“The only thing I had left that was clean was a wool sweater.  It didn’t—it was uncomfortable.”  Sam visibly winced and Kevin looked momentarily at the floor, a small, shy smile on his lips.  “Ed had this one socked away for me.  Plans ahead.”

Kevin took a long moment to study his son.  How long had it been since that first night – the night he’d surrendered Sam to Alan?  It felt like a lifetime, and the man who stood before him now, this proud, confident man, was nothing like the boy Kevin had met on the Grid or the irresponsible slut he’d come home to.  Sam had found a safe place with Alan, and a home with Alan and Ed, but it was more than that.  To Kevin, it was obvious that Sam had finally found himself, too.

It seemed only one question remained for Kevin to ask, because there were things that weren’t his to know, except this.  “Are you happy, Sam?”

There was no hesitation – Sam’s nod came first, and then the words.  “Happy.”  A pause.  “Complete.”  And that was more than he’d asked, more than Kevin could even say for himself.  It was a dream for Sam he hadn’t known he had until that moment.

“I’m glad.”

Sam nodded again and headed for the door, and Kevin stepped aside to allow his son out of the office and back to his own responsibilities.  His hand was on the doorknob when he looked up – when had the child-like sparkle in those blue eyes faded into a look of such mature joy?  Surely it hadn’t been there last time he’d met Sam’s eyes directly – and blushed as he said, “Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”  And then he was gone, out the door and down the hall, pulling a bit at the collar of his shirt over his shoulder as he walked toward the nearest elevator.  Broad shoulders, strong back, pressed shirt, confident stride.   _Thank you for what?_

Sometimes, Kevin Flynn felt just the slightest pull to return to the Grid, because dealing with Programs was a thousand times easier than dealing with human emotions.  

This wasn’t one of those times.

He sighed and rested a flat palm against his own office door for a long beat before pushing it closed again and leaning against the wood, eyes closed, drawing a deep breath and letting it out into the silence of his office.  In the exhale, he felt the pride of fatherhood wash over him.  When he reached the bottom of the breath, he let the words come out in a whisper.  “You’re welcome, Kiddo. “

Then he pushed away from the door and opened it before returning to his desk.  He wouldn’t take credit for everything.  The man that Sam had become… that was mostly Alan’s doing.

But without a push, there would have been no Alan and Sam to speak of.

So – at the very least – Kevin could take credit for that.

***

“Did you ever tell him?”

Alan shook his head against his pillow and slowed his index finger in its drawing of invisible patterns on Ed’s chest.  He thumbed the left nipple.  “Somehow it doesn’t seem fair anymore.  He’s at peace with whatever he believes happened that night.  We’ll let it be.”

“Sure.”  Ed sighed.  He turned his head away from Alan and looked toward the open door to the adjoining bathroom.  The sound of the running shower brought a mental image of a naked Sam Flynn, his front side to the water, the healing welts on his back and ass visible to the eyes of Ed’s imagination.  He’d put them there two days ago and traced them with salve just last night; Sam had told him they’d started to itch and had been visibly uncomfortable dressed in the navy blue wool sweater he’d planned to wear to the office today, and so Ed had given him a brand-new button up to wear instead.  It was one of a dozen shirts he’d bought for Sam in the three months since they’d cemented their polyamory – for reasons he couldn’t explain, he liked to buy clothes for Sam.  Perhaps it was a controlling tick – some Doms were like that, controlling everything their sub did, right down to the clothes they wore.  But Ed preferred to think of it as the one and only way that he doted over the boy.

“I still think about it sometimes,” Alan admitted quietly, and his exploring hand flattened, allowing his whole left palm to caress Ed’s chest and belly.  “You… felt…”  He drew a deep breath, and the emotional shudder in his exhale was enough to draw Ed’s eyes away from the bathroom door and back to Alan’s hazel pools.

“I couldn’t believe how tight you were,” Ed whispered, and his hand came up to palm Alan’s cheek in prelude to a soft, sensual kiss.  “But it’s not ever going to happen again, is it?”

“Does it need to?”

Ed smiled and rubbed his nose against Alan’s cheek in a bunny kiss.  “No.”  Then he kissed that spot on the cheek, and then the lips, and then rested his forehead against his lover’s.  “No.  This is enough.”

The running water of the shower stopped, and they took a final quiet moment to themselves before Alan rolled away from Ed and out of bed to take his turn in the shower.  Likely he’d run his hands over Sam’s naked form before sending him to the bedroom, still in the nude – he knew Ed was hard and would want Sam to suck him off.  And then Ed would help Sam dress, and then they’d all go to the office to begin another day.  It was more than enough, he realized.

It was perfect. 


End file.
